A blood red rose, with blood red thorns
by Light-of-Halo
Summary: completed! He is gone, they still hang on, collecting their shattered pieces broken by a man who left them for his past. When he turns up alive, the mismatched members of Bebop have to face the past all over again(FYI long chapters SxF)
1. Stars and clouds above us

Clouds and stars above us

Jets POV

  
  
  
  


I stood watching Faye that day, that day that seemed like yesterday, Since he left. She was slumped against the hull of Bebop crying, crying for him, crying for him and what he did. It was more than I could bear, All I could do was watch as my life, wait no, both of our lives were tilted upside down by the very person we thought we could rely on. That was two years ago, two years that seemed to drift by over our heads like the clouds and stars.

  


They found the swordfish II, I didn't want it neither did Faye, so we sold it for some cash to pay for his funeral. We didn't get much cash considering it was antique, but it had enough money to provide a plot of dirt and a casket. I had to make funeral preparations, When ever I mentioned them around Faye she would freeze up and walk into another room.

  


He did have a funeral, we went and left dry-eyed. At the funeral there were only a handful of people, not including the funeral directors and other such members there was a boy named Lin I knew him from that shoot out, and some people I had never met before. I didn't talk to them, they were probably old syndicate members. Besides no one knew Spike better than Faye or I. The funeral was short, Some guy did the eulogy, I didn't listen, there was no need to, he didn't know crap about Spike, it was almost dishonorable to have say the eulogy. I couldn't waste tears on him, He pissed me off what he did, leaving, leaving like we meant nothing to him at all. I could tell that Faye was crushed, at the funeral she never did look at the casket, she just looked down at her feet, her eyes unfocused.

  


I felt like he was my son, I guess he didn't feel like I was his father, or he would have stayed. Nevertheless I miss the Lunkhead, he was my friend, my son, my brother. He was a good kid who made bad choices, at least choices for the wrong reasons. That day he left it made me realize that on Bebop he thought he dreaming...or some bullshit like that, it seemed like he made us value him, but really to him, we were just an old burned out cop, a slut, and a mentally challenged kid. I'm glad Ed wasn't there to see him go, no telling what it could have done to her, she is so fragile. I think personally Ed would have been in a state of depression, no food, no sleep for weeks. Ed did come back one year after she left. I'll get into that later. That day I let Faye sit and cry for a while, but then it really got to me so I got up and went over to her

  


_'Faye...'_

  


_'What is it Jet? What could it possibly be?'_

  


_'There is no use crying over him, He doesn't deserve our tears.'_

  


_'I know, but I can't help it. He LEFT us, like as if we... we meant nothing to him at all.'_

  


_'Then lets return the favor, if we meant nothing to him at all then, he means nothing to us at all.'_

  


_'But... I cant ... just lie to myself like that Jet'_

  


'_Faye lies aren't bad they aren't as convenient as the truth.' _

_ 'He left to see....to see if he was alive, the bastard, he didn't value his life or ours at all.'_

  


_'To him life was a dream.'_

  


_'I think he likes to make other peoples lives dreams too, he certainly trying to make mine one.'_

  


'_Don't give even give him the pleasure in making your life a dream, just because he left doesn't mean you have to suffer for his stupid decisions.'_

  


_'Jet what are we going to do... I remember my past only...only to figure out there is nothing to go back to.'_

  


_'Faye I'm glad you remembered your past...'_

  


_'You are?'_

  


_'Why wouldn't I be?'_

  


With that she looked at me, with what I consider a nice glance and proceeded to her room which she didn't leave unless there was dinner_._

  
  


Faye, well, Faye was never the same after he left. Who could blame her I certainly wasn't, but she, she changed the most dramatically of us all. She always had this peculiar glint of solemnity in her deep emerald eyes. She had some peculiar habits, like she lean against the door frame like he used to do, and she would in the middle of the night get out of her bed and sleep on the couch then wake up early and get back into her bed so I wouldn't know. I found out soon, however, she would also at the bar never order vodka, he liked vodka, she just ordered a tequila and pretended that she never heard of vodka. I did the same only I had scotch. The most peculiar thing by far was she would the first aid supplies dump out the contents check to see if everything was there and reorganize them over and over as if she would need to use them. She actually left Bebop for a while, I forgot how long a week, a month, time didn't matter then, time just lost all of its effect after he stepped out that door. Time started again the moment she came back, I guess its because she brought life back with her. I do, however, remember what she said to me the day she left.

  


_'Jet...I..I'm going to go get gas for the Red Tail.'_

  


_'Faye, the Red Tail was just filled up a few days ago.'_

  


_'Dammit Jet I'm going to go get gas wether you like it or not, I'm going!'_

  


_'Faye, come on now, don't be like that.'_

  


_'Jet I have no choice I have to go...'_

  


_'Faye please, there is nothing we can do any more... you know that he is...'_

  


_Dammit Jet this has nothing to do with him! He means NOTHING to me, because I obviously meant nothing to him. Goodbye'_

  
  


Her eyes welled up with month old tears and they spilled over. I walked over to her and just put a hand on her shoulder.

  
  


_'Faye, running away wont accomplish anything, it just delays it. If anyone should know that it would be you.'_

  


_'Jet, running is the only thing I know how to do, everything else I knew how to do was... lost when he lost... now please Jet let me do the one thing I know how to do...please let me run'_

  
  


I let her shoulder go and I walked away as she lifted off andran away. She did the thing I wish I had the liberty to do, run. She loved him, so did I, in a fatherly sort of way, but she really did love him. You could tell, when you looked in her once joyful eyes, that she loved the Cowboy with the two different eyes. She loved him even though he would never love her, now that's strong love. She must have loved him dearly to stay loyally by his side through thick and thin. It must have really killed her to see that her loyalty and love was somewhat wasted on a guy who didn't value it. I wish that he could have seen the love that she held for him, that she was always there for him, even though it didn't seem like it. She always was there if he was in big trouble, there for back up even if her back up wasn't needed, or she really didn't help, or even if he didn't want her there. He was rarely there for her though, When she would leave he would just laugh and take a nap, or go chase Vicious. In fact I could even say that at times he wasn't even worth the love that we poured into him, I feel like I just wasted emotions on him, like he didn't even care we existed, we were just the people that fed him and put a damn roof over his head. I had to feed and put a roof over a lot of people, but he was the only person who chose to leave and blow it all into the wind. 

  


I felt as if time slowed down when he left and time stopped when Faye left. Thank God, Ed had come back when she was gone, in fact just a day or two after Faye left. I'm glad for that, If Ed didn't return when she did I thought I might lose my mind. I felt as if my life had a purpose when I had to take care of Ed and Ein, I had to provide for them and protect them. I actually grinned when I saw her come in that day with the dog waddling along behind her. 

  


_'Ed is that you?'_

  


_'Jet person! Ed is back Ed is home_!'

  


Home...Ed this is no longer the home you once knew. I thought

  


_'Ed come inside, we have enough food for seconds.'_

  


_'YAY seconds...wait where is Faye-Faye and Spike-Spike?'_

  


_'Faye is...looking for a bounty...with him.'_

I couldn't bring myself to say his name, I vowed not to bring it up. The S word.

  


'_Ok Ed will save food for them!'_

  


_'Only save food for Faye, He ate before he left he wont be hungry_'

  
  


We looked for bounties for a while, but it was hard with out Faye or...him. I had to fly solo with no back up, I didn't complain but I was getting old and old men shouldn't run after bounties alone. I was almost at the end of my rope, I was exhausted constantly and Ed's chattering made it no easier. I couldn't complain about Ed though, she was the reason I got up in the morning knowing that someone depended on me. When Faye returned, I felt relieved. I could tell whatever she was running from she ran into, and got over it in her own way. She seemed as if a slight load was lifted from her shoulders, she seemed happier and she actually complained about my cooking. The complaints I took as a way of her for saying thank you, that was the way she was. She wasn't one of those girls who would become gushy or would whine or would act like she was superior to you, she was one of a kind. I noticed that she never did any of those peculiar habits again like she used to do, she drank her vodka, she slept in her bed and she didn't touch the first aid kit unless needed. Now that I recall, I never did where exactly she went, but that doesn't matter. What did matter was now we had to explain him to Ed. We couldn't tell her what happened to him, we just said we was Mars, and that was it, he was on Mars and Mars he will stay. Ed seemed to understand that Spike was never going to return, she read Faye's eyes and silently got the picture. Ed understood enough never to ask Faye about him, and only once did she ask me.

  
  


_'Hey, Jet can ya open the hangar.'_

  


_'Sure'_

  


_'Faye-faye your back did you bring Ed souvenirs?'_

  


_'Ed... Where I was there are weren't good enough souvenirs for you.'_

  


_'Faye, where were you?'_

  


_'oh..I was visiting an old friend...'_

  


_'Faye-Faye were is Spike-Spike?'_

  


I thought Faye would lose it here but this is when I noticed that she changed.

  


_'Spike, is on Mars, he in on Mars and He will Be there for a while...he told me to tell you Ed that you ...you....can sleep on the couch now.'_

  


_'Yay couch is Eds!'_

  


_'Im gonna be in my room. Jet,'_

  


_'Jet person, Spike-Spike isn't coming is he.'_

_'No Ed he is gone.'_

  


_'Why did he leave?'_

  


_'that Ed is one question that will never be answered, not because I don't know, its because I don't have the heart to say it.'_

  


Ed just stared at me for a while then went on her little tomato and went about her usual routine.

  


__Faye really surprised me, in fact a few days after Ed came back she turned and smiled at me. Now it wasn't a big smile, it wasn't one of those Kodak moments you would catch on film. It was a sign that genuine smile from her that told me it was ok to smile now, it wasok. I think I smiled back at her, I can't really remember, but what I do remember is after that she went to her room and watched that video tape. She watched that thing at least a thousand times through before she came out and asked if the shower were fixed.

  


I had those lines '_do your best do your best me! me! me!' _stuck inmy head for days because of her. Damn Wrench. Damn that funny little emerald eyed wrench.

  
  


Faye and I started to hunt for bounties now, and we actually made a pretty good team, considering that we never really did it together before. With Ed feeding us info, We raked in more than enough to feed us and to keep up with repairs. Repairing was not as big of a deal as it used to be now that he wasn't here any more, no one really broke anything, so we would splurge and buy new items. We had enough money to buy Ed a present, a old ship it was slightly larger than the Red Tail. It was an old green city cab, that we saved from the scrap yard. It ran pretty well, And Ed loved it, She named it lobster. She was only allowed to use when we were docked so she wouldn't get too lost. I liked giving Ed that spaceship, it made me feel like was making someone else's life better somehow. I felt the happiest I felt since he left, Even though it has only been two years, It seemed like yesterday since he left, but a year since I knew him. 

  
  


'_Ed we have a surprise for you look'_

  


_'You do faye-faye Jet person what is it?'_

  


_'Look and see...'_

  


_'Wowicantbelieveititssocool_' 

  


I remember it came out so fast I didn't quite get what she said.

  


_'Her name is lobster! Thank you Jet-person and faye-faye!_

  


_'Her? Well your welcome Ed, I'm taking a shower jet.'_

  
  


Soon after Ed got her surprise I decided that it was about time that Faye got a present, so I docked the ship on earth, we didn't return to Mars much, we just blamed it on the syndicate complications, but that wasn't it. I told Faye I was going out to get food and she automatically piped up with Chinese. I turned and looked into jewelry stores and saw a necklace that I thought that she might like, It was plain as jewelry goes. It was a small diamond on a delicate gold chain. It was perfect, I bought it and the Chinese and went back to Bebop with a childish grin on my face as if I just surprised my friend with a surprise birthday. 

  


_'Faye Im back, here's the food_.'

  


_'What took you so long Jet?_'

  


'_Well there was a line at the Chinese Restaurant but this was the main reason.'_

  


I gave her the navy blue box and told her to open it. When she did she just stared at it in disbelieve.

  
  


_'Jet... It's...beautiful thank you. I don't really know what to say... Thank you for everything'_

  
  


I remember the exact expression on her face, her glittering emerald eyes lit up, her cheeks became a rosy color and her ruby lips curved into a flawless smile. I never saw her face light up that way, not even when he was around, but then again, when he was around I never did pay that much attention to her. She wrapped her arms around me and a small tear ran down her face. That was the first time I saw her cry out of happiness. She quickly put the necklace around her neck and smiled. Then Ed scampered into the room

  


'_Faye-Faye I like your new necklace!' _

  


_'Thanks Ed, Hey lets eat I'm starving_.'

  


_'I'm up for that idea_.'

  


_'Yes ed and Ein are quite hungry_'

  
  


She was much happier now that I gave that to her, I think it made her feel loved, loved by someone. She needed that right then, She needed to feel like she was apart of this 'family'. I loved Faye like a father loves his daughter, not in the boyfriend kind of way, I don't think it would work out anyway, she isn't my type. I seriously doubt that I'm her type either, I also think it would take her a while to even date another guy, let alone fall in love with one. I hope to think that if I had a daughter that it would be like Faye, only wear less revealing clothing. Even though she dressed like a whore, she wasn't at all like one, she just liked to hide her true self behind those skimpy yellow shorts. Even though I never really met Julia, I bet that Faye was just as much as a lady as her, Faye just, for some reason, hides her good qualities rather than her good. She really had a good heart and a good head on her shoulders, she just had some really shitty stuff happen to her. I think, however that most of the bad stuff is out of our way, I mean what else can happen to us? After a couple of days it hit me when I was piloting the ship, our lives were finally turning around. Ed, Faye, me, all I could see were in happy moods. It was the first time I noticed that everyone was actually being nice to one another, well as nice as we could get that is. I could tell that Faye, Ed and I were all getting over him slowly, but it was beginning to happen. 

  


Now, here I am, its about a month after I gave Faye that present and I'm flying the ship to Mars. We haven't been there in a while, I thought now that we were better it would be a good opportunity to go .

  
  


"Hey Jet we are going to Mars right?" Faye called from the couch on which she was painting her nails

  


"Yeah I heard there were good bounties there." 

  


"Can Ed fly Lobster on Mars... Jet-person?"

  


"I don't see why not Ed, as long as you don't break anything."

  
  


"Jet, I'm going to a bar once we get there, and a casino perhaps too I'm going stir crazy." 

  


"Stir crazy, burr bazy, blue baby, booze lady !!!!" Ed chattered as Faye wacked her with a magazine.

  


One thing I notice is that we always tell each other where we were going, I suppose, it is because we don't want to think that the other thought they left. 

  


"Sure, I think I might go to a pool hall. I haven't shot pool in a long time."

  


"I haven't gambled in a while either."

  


"Ed hasn't done anything in a while." Ed flipped

  


I landed on the outskirts of a city, docked bebop in a small port and decided to roam around, Faye and Ed had already taken off.

  


"Well where should I go?" I got in the hammerhead and began to lift off. The thrusters propelled the ship out of the hangar and I began to scope out some possible pool halls. I began to look to the east, saw one that I never been in before, which is pretty rare since I was in the ISSP and pool halls were the main hangout. I gently landed the ship and strolled in

  


The pool hall had the cigarette haziness enveloping it like a blanket. The surroundings were two pool tables with a few people at them, the dart board, and the booths in back for 'business'. I immediately sat at the bar and asked the bartender for a scotch.

  


"Hey Jet I thought you always had Vodka?" a voice said from behind me

  


"Huh?" I turned and looked at it was one of my old partners from the ISSP, for a moment I thought It could have been him, but he's dead and I need to stop thinking about him.

  


"Jet for as long as I knew you, you had vodka." Nathan laughed and drank his vodka

  


"Well times change ya know, I don't know I seem to be quite taken with this little shot glass beauty." I slapped him on the back as a greeting and drank my scotch.

  


"Yeah times do change, where have you been for the past couple of years? I heard Earth but those were rumors." Nathan asked curiously

  


"Yeah I wanted to see more of earth, its actually quite pretty." I responded instinctively

  


"Jet, I know what happened to Spike, it not like no one knows. No one takes down the leader of the largest syndicate and is anonymous. I'm sorry about your friend." Nathan responded gravely

  


"Him, well, I guess I once could consider him a friend but he's cold and dead, there is nothing more to it than that." I snapped, I didn't want to hear about him again.

  


"Ya know there are some people that think that he might-" I cut him off

  


"He is dead Nathan, and don't you bring him up again around me ever." I was pissed, He was dead besides I don't think we was that low to stage his own death.

  


"I'm sorry, it wasn't my place. I just thought you might like that hope that he might be out there." Nathan apologized 

  


"There is nothing wrong with having hope, but having hope that he is alive is foolish, If you knew him and knew what he did then you wouldn't want hope either." I answered

  


"Your so damn tough Jet aren't you? You just cant take the fact that he could be alive and like it." Nathan frowned

  


I took out my gun and held it to his head "Get away from me Nathan you ignorant little pissant."

  


"Fine its time I left anyway its three In the morning." Nathan stormed out

  


"Time is overrated." I called out to him

  


I knew he couldn't be right, He has to be dead so that we can go about our lives, so that we move on. If he alive then He'd ruin our lives all over again by sticking his damn nose in our future. I couldn't take it if he came back, I think I might just shoot the bastard on sight. He needs to be dead, He can't have his cake and eat it too, he cant just waltz back into Bebop like nothing happened, because he changed everything and its finally getting better. He died chasing Vicious and Julia and with them he will stay, in heaven or hell or wherever he ended up. Wow, I need to get him out of my head.

  


"Hey bartender can I have another scotch?" I asked 

  


"Hey Jet, I thought that you always had Vodka." the hair on my neck stood on end, I knew that voice....but it couldn't be.

"You.." I said looking into the eyes of my former friend sitting next to me

  


"Hey long time no-" I cut another person off today, I noticed that he smelt of vodka, I bet he was drunk, I didn't care.

  


" You bastard how dare you come back, how dare you even talk to me!" I held out my gun to his head and frowned

  


"Jet wow violent, Is this what Faye did to you after those two years?" Spike grinned

  


"Don't even bring her up, Your supposed to be dead." I lowered my gun and drank my scotch in one gulp

  


"Well I'm obviously not Jet, Maybe you were at the wrong funeral." Spike said

  


"I can't believe you were alive this whole time, and to put icing on the cake you think that things haven't changed." I snapped

  


"Have things really changed that much? You don't seem so different, what about Faye and Ed?" 

Spike asked

  


"You have no idea what you did to us do you? You have no fucking idea, you walk out on us like we were nothing to you, you fake your death to fool us, and now you want to become buddy buddy." I frowned at him

"Hey its my life, I can do what I want with out you approving of it can't I?" Spike narrowed his eyes

  


"Yes it is your life, but you fail to see the impact that you life had on us, you walked out on us , and you aren't welcome back. You aren't the person I thought I knew, I didn't think you could be so damn fucking blind." I explained 

  
  


"I really didn't know I had such an impact." Spike contemplated

  


"Well lets say instead of you leaving what if I left, or Faye left? What would you do then?" I noticed that when I mentioned Faye's name that his eyes changed slightly, I don't know what it means but it meant something.

  


"I suppose you have a point, I guess I really didn't notice. Would it be ok if I did... come by?"

Spike asked carefully

  


"No, I don't want you hurt Faye or Ed more than you already have." I replied

  


"How is she..Faye?" Spike asked trying to appear nonchalant. 

  


"She finally got better, You know that you really hurt her don't you?" I told him truthfully

  


"She, was hurt because of me?" Spike thought for a moment

  


"Yes you dumbass you left her crying in the damn hallway!" I looked at him skeptically

  


"I didn't really know she cared that much, I mean my god she is a whore." he spitted

  


"She isn't a whore, and if you knew anything you'd realize that. You really need to get over your selfishness." I shouted at him

  


"Wow your defending her Jet?" He seemed surprised

  


"Like I said a lot has changed, thanks to you and you selfish decisions." I gritted my teeth

  


"Ha, you know she's the selfish one wasn't she the one who was always gambling our money? God she doesn't even deserve the time of day, the skank." He snorted

  


" I've had it!" I punched him hard in the face causing him to fall off the barstool and land on the floor.

  


"You are the only person I know who would leave his life behind just incase there was something better out there and not think twice. You didn't give a damn about Ed, me, or Faye, all you had on your mind was getting revenge and dying. Then you didn't die and you don't have the balls to tell me until now, you then think that you are some special exception to the rule and is worthy of being back on Bebop. Faye, Ed and I all took it hard after you left, because you meant something to us whether we liked it or not. You are the selfish bastard Spike! Not Faye, you and another thing that was the first time I said your name you left and I want it to be the only time."

  


I stormed out of the Pool hall and got in the hammerhead, I was shaking, either out of pure anger or out of uncertainty.

  


I came back on Bebop I suppose as white as a sheet because when I landed Faye was there.

  


"Hey there Jet guess what I won 20,000 woolongs at the crap tables dice are now my new friends !" Faye shoved the wad of cash at my face and grinned

  


"That's great Faye" I said deep in thought 

  


"Jet are you ok you look as if you saw a ghost." She studied me with curious glance

  


I didn't answer

  


"Jet... please tell me you didn't see a ghost." I knew exactly what she meant by that

  


"No Faye I didn't, I just got in a fight with someone that's all." 

  


"Oh, ok..." She walked out and began to count her money apparently proud of her winnings

  


I was wondering I was too hard on him. He was being to insensitive it drove me crazy. He could have been drunk, maybe that's why he was like that, but still it was not excuse for all the things he did. I couldn't get why though He would hide from us until now. Why did he stage his death? I didn't know. The last thing I want to see is Faye or ed get hurt again. I don't know however if it would be better for her to know that Spike is alive or not. I'll let fate decide that one.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	2. Showers are a girls best friend

Showers are a girl's best friend.

Faye's POV

  
  


I look back on what happened in the past years sometimes late at night. Jet pulled me through the two years of hell we endured. I don't know how he did it. He managed to look after Ed and me. I knew he must have been suffering inside just as much as I. I feel guilty about that day I left him alone, I felt like I was deserting him, hell I was deserting him. I should have told him I'd be back, but I think he secretly knew anyway. 

  


I never forgot the day I left. I felt so lost, so out of place. I thought I was going to just break down and cry. I managed to get a hotel room and sleep there for the week. I wanted to call up Jet or just fly back to Bebop, but something inside of me kept telling me that I had to do this; I had to get this over with. I finally after a couple of days, got up the courage to go to the cemetery, where his body lay six feet under. I just walked up to the little headstone and looked down. I carried with me a single long stemmed red rose, and a mountain of thoughts in my pounding brain. I was so angry at him for leaving Jet and I, I felt like I was betrayed by my closest friend. Yet, I couldn't help but feel despair for his death. Even though I know he thought nothing more of me than just that little whore who cracked jokes at him and spent his money. I couldn't help but love him, whether I liked it or not, I did. I can't lie to my heart; it just doesn't work that way for me. I loved the little things about him, his curious playful stare, his cocky, sarcastic grin, and his moppy green hair. His uncanny ability to look into you head and seem to know what you are feeling and what your weaknesses are. I missed almost everything about him, except the part that would never love me. He loved Julia, his angel, his golden goddess, his little dream girl. She was stunning; I could see how even he could be memorized by her sheer mysteriousness, and her unmatchable beauty. I knew from the moment I met Julia, I had no chance in hell of winning his taken heart. I was at his grave anyway, on my knees crying like a damn baby.

  


_ 'Hey...I know you're down there.'_

  


_'You don't even have to listen just let me say this.'_

  


_'I really was crushed you know, when you deserted me, I know that you didn't like me, but I never would have thought you would have left me like that.'_

  


_'Actually, I knew you'd leave sometime, but I didn't want you too. You could have stayed! With Jet and I and lived with us. I didn't ask for you to love me, or like me I just wanted you to be there for me.'_

  


_'I guess you never wanted to be there for me though, I guess you didn't care one way or another if I needed you or not. You just didn't value me I suppose, you just didn't care about what happened to Jet or I, and you went, like we were just strangers or just street trash!'_

  


_I punched the ground with my fists over and over disturbing the grass attempting to grow there. My large, hot tears landed on the ground like a waterfall. A few people turned to look at me._

  


_'I hate you for what you did, for what you didn't do, and for what you failed to see. You failed to see that we were your family, God dammit! You failed to see that you turned you back on the closest father figure you had.' _

  


_'You failed to see that Jet loved you like a brother and like a son, you were just too stupid and selfish to see that. Too caught up in your own past life to realize what was unfolding at you feet. A ticket to a good, painless life, but you just stepped over it and kept walking towards your past.'_

  


_'You also failed to see that I...I loved you... not that it mattered you were head-over-heels in love with Julia, but you could at least give me the liberty of a nicer goodbye then 'I'm leaving to see if I was truly alive' you son of a bitch!' _

  


_People were starting to stare at me in the graveyard but I didn't care I went on._

  
  


_'Why were you so selfish? I loved you even though I knew you would never love me, I stuck with you through anything, I just masked it. I didn't want you to read me like pages in a book, but I did want you to at least see the front cover. I cared for you... I looked after you, somewhat, you were always stronger than I, but I did look after you.'_

  


_'I would like to thank you though, for the instances you were there for me, like when I got caught up in that dumbass cult. Ha, I can't even believe that I joined it, but when I woke up you were there. Looking at me as if I were the stupidest bitch you ever saw, but at least you were there... thanks.'_

  


_I noticed I was attracting a small crowd, I just kept going though, and I might as well put on a show_.

  


_'I don't know if I have the will power or the moral capability to forgive you for what you did to me. I do know that Spike, I did love you, and even though you did shatter my heart and abandon me, I can't help but to cry for you.'_

  


_'If you are in hell, I hope that this message might cause God to change his mind. You might not have loved me, but you loved Julia, and since she was your angel on earth, she must be in heaven.' _

  


_'If you are already in heaven then it looks like I wasted my time here, and gas money flying out here.'_

  


_'If you, yourself are listening to this, then I hope you realize that you did shatter me, and it will take me a while to pick up the pieces and to heal, but I will eventually do so. I loved you lunk head, but I also hate you for not at least valuing me in the least, so when I get up in Heaven, expect a serious ass-kicking ok?'_

  


_'Oh I almost forgot, this rose is...well it's for you and if you notice really carefully you'll see that it still has all of its thorns. The bloom represents my love towards you, but the stem represents the pain you caused me.'_

  


_I purposely pricked my finger on one of its thorns, and kissed the petals softly. I then placed the rose on the grave_

  


_'There now you have my blood, you took everything else, my heart, my brain and my judgment, so you might as well have my blood. I have to go find Jet now, you wouldn't understand considering that you never thought of returning. Well I'm going back home, see you space cowboy.'_

  


_I got up to see that a crowd of people had collected around me and listened to my eccentric yelling and crying to no one. They were crying though, crying for me, crying for the story I told. The Cemetery security guard was looking at me. He was tall like… him, I don't know why I remember that. I do know why I remembered when he came up to me after I finished my little serenade. _

  


_'Was that story true?' He asked_

  


_'Err...yes' I said wiping my eyes_

  


_'You young lady are truly honorable for living that love story, I'm sorry it didn't work out.' He tried to smile_

  


_'Thanks but I don't need your sympathy.' I looked down at his grave_

  


_'Oh I know, but you deserve it.' He said as he put a hand on my back_

  


With that, a group of strangers that had crowded around me, started to clap softly. I didn't know what to do, so I cried as I made my way back to my Red Tail. I remembered when I came back to Bebop that Jet never asked me about where I was exactly; I bet he had a clue though_._

  


I played with my necklace gently as I listened to the stillness of Bebop.

  


This is the best present I have ever gotten from anyone. I still can't believe he got it for me, after all the shit I put him through. Ha, I bet he was even questioning himself after he bought this. I'm never taking this necklace off; it reminds me that I am loved by someone, fatherly love of course. I am being thought about, that I belong. Everyday I wake up I look at it and it reminds me that I have a family, no matter how small or dysfunctional. I won't leave Bebop again, I don't want to leave, and I don't like doing things I don't like to do. I have no where else to go, I know that no one likes me as much as Jet or Ed does. I love them both. Ed is like the little sister I never had, she is crazy and loud, but she is bright and she is one of the most innocent people I know. Jet is the father, Jet is one of the kindest people I know. He also had the knack for saying things you wanted to hear. He never seemed to lose his head over a situation or get enraged, he was the most reliable person I ever heard of. I owe my happiness to Jet. He looked out for me, but yet knew when to let me handle my own things, and when to step in. He cared for me I know, although he would never admit it openly. I never forgot when he looked for me when I was with Gren; Jet alone looked for me, not _him_. Whatever made him fight that guy tonight he must have done it for a good reason. I can't even think of him hitting someone with out any good reason, like _he_ used to do. Jet looked shaken up though, maybe the guy was an old ISSP cop and he was being a jerk... I don't know, I don't think I want to know. 

  


I want to repay Jet though for the necklace, but to tell the truth, I have no idea what in the hell to get him. As long as I knew him He doesn't seem to really want anything in particular except...bonsai! I'll get him a bonsai tree and a bonsai cutting thing...scissors? I don't know I'll just ask the florist. I feel accomplished, I think I'll spend 10,000 woolongs at the craps table, and use the rest for Jet's tree.

  


I woke up to hear bumping and crashing, I saw Jet was trying to repair something or other, I couldn't really see but he looked really out of sorts.

  


"Jet, what are you doing? It's too early in the morning to be breaking something." 

  


"Faye it's four in the afternoon, and I'm trying to fix this part to Ed's ship, she ran into a steel beam and this got bent, so I'm fixing it."

  


"Ed is very sorry Jet, I didn't see it." Ed blushed and flipped backwards

  


"Oh sorry, well I'm taking a shower then heading back to the craps table ok." 

  


"Sure, oh and watch out there are some creeps in those casinos who cheat."

  


"Yeah I know, I'm one of them remember?" I laughed as I went into the shower

  


I heard him chuckle a bit, as I took off my clothes and turn on the hot water.

  
  


Showers are a girl's best friend and anyone who denies it needs to take one now and see. The shower is the only thing that won't criticize you of your singing capability, or complain you need to loose a few pounds. The shower is the only thing that will see you naked and not judge you by how you looked or what you sing like. The shower was a sturdy little friend, which will listen to your thoughts and help you out. The shower was the one who unlocked my past and showed me to the light at the end of the tunnel. Even if there was nothing at the end of that tunnel, the shower helped me anyway. Now don't get me wrong it's not like I just stand in the shower and talk to it, I cleanse my self while doing so. I cleanse my self of all my troubles of all me dirt and all my thoughts, both mentally and physically. If the shower were a guy I'd fall head-over-heels in love with it faster than falling rain. Yet even though this shower might seem like a flawless device, it isn't. It breaks down or runs out of hot water or the showerhead falls off and sprays you with ice water. No matter how perfect anything may seem, it is flawed somehow. I continue to use it because I like the sensation it gives me, when I am clean of all my troubles and dirt. It revives me, no matter how short or long it may seem. Everyone should take a lesson from the shower, never judge, never hate, and always listen; you never know where it might take you. As for now, even the shower is more holy than I am, but at least I am trying to make progress.

  


I stepped out of the shower with my robe on and a turban-towel around my head. I walked into my room and changed into my little shorts and my top with the red shirt draped about my arms. I looked at my self in the mirror. The mirror was evil I had decided. The mirror is the complete opposite of the shower, it is the one who judges you on your appearance, it shouts at you. "Put on eye liner.... your hair cut makes your head look fat, you need to loose a few pounds, or who are you fooling wearing that outfit." I hate the mirror, mirrors are just like people; they are just like those strangers who judge you before they even know you. You have to look good for the mirror though, or the mirror will get you eventually. If you don't at least look half descent, your whole day is ruined. If you constantly try to appease the mirror, however, you will fall into a state of depression. You can never appease the Mirror, it will always seem to find fault in you. No matter how hard you try to deny it, mirrors bring out the worst in you. Mirrors bring out all the things you wish not to see, whether they are wrinkles, or bad hair, or the feelings you're trying to mask. I now vow to refuse to give the damn mirror the time of day now. I don't care what it thinks about me. Fuck you mirror! Well, at least I'm trying to make progress in not caring about that thing.

  
  


I came to my Red Tail, my other little friend. It stayed by my side like a true, blue friend. As I clambered into the cockpit and sat in its seat I noticed that my Red Tail has never let me down, ever. It always was there to get me out of trouble; it was there to console me when I gambled all my money away. It was there when I had to run away, and when I had to return. The Red Tail always trusted me to make the right decisions no matter if they were small, like to put fuel in her, or big ones like whether to return to Bebop after I left. It always trusted me that my decisions would eventually turn out to be good ones. I let her down more than once, like not having fuel, or accidentally getting shot down. It was always there to either laugh with me, or to just stand by my side bruised and look at me with 'I told you so' eyes. We have been though a lot together, from the very beginning as Poker Alice the Romani. I can't say that the Red Tail ever liked him or not, but I know that the Red Tail knew I did, and valued me for my likings. The Red Tail, like the shower, knew me like no one else; they knew all my faults, all of my perfections, all of my shining moments, all of my defeats, all of my fears, all of my secrets and all of my regrets. The closest people that come close to them would be Jet and Gren. Gren was beautiful in all sorts of ways; if that Red Eye incident didn't happen to him then I would be probably with him right now. God why did that have to happen to him? Fate? Fate is a kick in the ass; fate seems to like screwing up lives like Jet's, Ed's Gren's and mine. Fate sure seems to enjoy it.

  


I shook the thoughts out of my head as I lifted out of the hangar and sped away to the casino in which I won my small fortune. I am actually very excited; I love to gamble. I love the way it seemed like everything was hanging in the balance, all or nothing. I love it even though I most of the times I lose. I am not that lucky in gambling or in life, but I do it anyway, praying that my luck will turn around.

  


I set down the Red Tail clumsily, I had I lot of stuff on my mind. I walked into the casino and looked about it seeing if there was anything that stuck out in my mind. Nothing in particular did so I made my way, slightly seductively, to the craps table and gazed at the guy nearest to me.

  


"Hey there beautiful lady luck, are you here to gamble?" a tall muscular man, with pushed back dark hair, next to me at the craps table, smiled. 

  


"You bet." He called me beautiful, he is polite and cute, pinch me I'm dreaming.

  


"Well then, how about the first one's on me." He smiled and handed me the dice and put two, 10,000 dollar chips

  


"Are you sure? I might not as be as lucky as you think." I grinned and stared into his stormy slate blue eyes

  


"Oh, I'm not worried." he put his hands on mine and closed them around the dice "Roll me a winner."

  


I smiled and threw the dice. I really am going to make a fool of myself, I know I can't possibly win.

  


The dice bounced and rolled on the table, until a four and a three appeared as their sides up.

  


"Seven!" I screamed I must have looked like a fool but I screamed anyway and smiled

  


"Whoa there beautiful, looks like your luck is turning around. Want to come back to my place?" He smiled grabbed his chips and grabbed my hands his slate blue eyes flashed.

  


"Thanks but no thanks, I have to go actually." I confessed

  


"Is there another man? Damn it, I knew it." he frowned and turned away.

  


"No not another man... I just have to go sorry." I bit my lip and went to the door of the casino; I walked down the streets with the sun setting fast. I decided I need a drink, so I slipped into a bar.

  


"I now had just rejected a potential date; I need to get over this. He is dead and gone and never loved me, and he never looked back." I murmured to myself as I half drank, half stared at my shot of vodka in front of me.

  


I looked around the bar out of boredom; it was an old bar with old run down people. It needs a paint job and new stools; the one I'm sitting on is ripped open. There aren't very many people in the bar, just a few desolate souls looking for relief. I know that feeling all too well.

  


I sighed heavily "This is too familiar, I think I better go. I have to get him out of my head." I lowly muttered 

  


Then someone sat down on the stool next to me, I didn't look to see, what was the use anyway?

  


"I see your still drinking vodka, good for you." I froze and almost dropped my glass... no it couldn't be I looked up to see him…he was looking down at me with that classic grin on his face and those deep garnet eyes.

  


"Spike...you're...you're..." I stuttered I couldn't even maintain speech I was so shocked

  


"Yes I am alive Faye, Jet figured that out last night." He said with a sadder tone

  


"Spike why didn't you come back? Did you just not give a damn?" I said my heart beginning to sink into my stomach and flip.

  


"No, that's not it. If I didn't give a damn then I would have come back." He said simply with a hint of sadness as he looked into my eyes with his garnet ones.

  


"You don't make any sense Spike.No one leaves their friends behind to die… Then not return when they don't die." I felt like crying, but I couldn't, I couldn't let him see me cry, not again. "Were we even FRIENDS to you?" I clutched my necklace out of habit and he noticed.

  


"Who gave you that... that necklace?" He asked curious but seeming not wanting to know the answer

  


"Why should I even give you the time of day?" I hissed 

  


"Please Faye, please don't be angry..." He pleaded while staring at his drink

  


"You deserted us Spike; you left us like we meant nothing to you at all... I see that now, we are nothing to you are we? Let me guess, your running low on money!" I snapped, I tried not to sound as harsh as I felt

  


He looked at me with the eyes of a child who looks like we were being scolded for getting lost in a store. 

  


"Faye I'm here for a lot of things, but I'm not here for money." He confessed

  


"Why are you here? Why? My life was finally turning around and you waltz back in and destroy everything!" I couldn't take it any more I broke down and cried.

  


I felt him put his arm around me and try to look into my sad wet eyes. His words felt like a warm, distant melody in my ears

  


"I am here about this." He held out a wilted, long stemmed red rose with some of its thorns and pedals still there. Some of them had fallen off. I looked at it pretending I didn't know what he was talking about.

  


"I don't know what that is." I cried again knowing very well what that was

  


"I was there that day you were, I heard every word you said. I remember every word you said." He said softly as he brought me close to him

  


"I know you heard, you were in that casket six feet under, I was talking to you." I said meekly from his arms. Under any usual circumstances I would love the way he held me, I would love the way he talked to me, but my life was far from usual.

  


"Faye, I came back to apologize to you... to apologize for what I did, for what I didn't do, and what I failed to see." he looked at me with sincere eyes filled with masked anguish.

  


I looked up at him my eyes were heavy with tears and sadness 

  


He looked into my eyes and into my thoughts. His facial expression turned from pity to horror "Oh god, look what I've done..." He turned away from me, he looked horrified about something or another. His eyes turned wide.

  


I couldn't hide the fact I loved him anymore, so I just played off of it. "You broke my heart Spike." I said as I pulled away from the bar and him. "You broke my heart and didn't even bother to look at the pieces..." another tear rushed down my cheek "Now you come back after all the damage is done. That is what you have done." I looked down and collapsed on my knees as my tears hit the floor.

  


"Faye..." He knelt down beside me and tried to pick me up "I'm sorry for what I did...it was horrible wasn't it."

  


"Yes Spike, Jet, and Ed we all changed after you left. Jet lost a son, Ed lost a friend and I lost something I never had." I cried again, I couldn't help it, I couldn't stop myself. Then I saw Spike do something I haven't seen him do before, he cried. I watched as a tear hit the floor that wasn't mine, I looked up to see his eyes welled up with tears.

  


"Spike..." I looked up at him 

  


"Faye you're right, you and Jet, both of you were right. I don't deserve you, or much less your selfless hospitality." He looked away from me "Will you tell Jet I'm sorry for what I said." with that he got up and walked out of the bar.

  


"Spike wait!" I leapt up after him but as I ran out. He was gone, he disappeared just as silently as he came.

  


I took out the communicator and called Jet, I didn't know what else to do really.

  


RIIIIIINNNNNNGGG RIIIIII-

  


"Yeah what is it Faye?" He asked apparently exhausted 

  


I couldn't find words they had all escaped me. 

  


"Faye what is it?" He asked this time more concerned, I think He figured out I had been crying

  


"I saw a ghost Jet, and you saw the same one." I finally managed to get my vocal chords working

  


"So you saw him too..." He looked away from the communicator

  


"Why didn't you tell me?" I asked

  


"I wanted you to see him, before I told you..." Jet said

  


"I see, well I'm coming back." I turned off the communicator and walked slowly to my trusty Red Tail and slowly took off towards Bebop

  


I can't believe he is back, after two fucking years he decides to return. I don't know whether to be mad or to be relieved, or to be sad. I am so confused. Why couldn't he have just said something at the cemetery to me? Maybe he felt guilty, or the more reasonable answer is that he didn't love me the way I did and he got scared or something. I am tired, tired of all of this. Why did I have to fall in love with such a selfish bastard? I hate him; I hate him because I love him when I hate him. I loved his deep searching garnet eyes, his comical green hair, his funny, cocky grin, even sometimes his attitude. I hate the things he did with those attributes though. I hate the things he did to Jet, Ed and I. I need some answers. I think this time I'll go try to find him; try to get some goddamn answers out of him. I need to know why he did all of those things he did. Why he left, what he thought about us, what he thinks about me, why he got in a fight with Jet, Why he didn't return, and why he cried. 

  


I finally got to Bebop and Jet was there, although I doubted this would be a happy welcome.

  


"Hey Jet, He's back, the bastard." I smirked a frown, and climbed out of the Red Tail

  


"Yeah he is." Jet said simply

  


"He told me to tell you he didn't mean the things he said to you last night, he said he was...sorry." I spoke trembling slightly 

  


"He did, did he? Well that's the first 'sorry' I heard out of him." Jet rubbed what has left of his black hair

  


"Yeah, what did he say?" I asked suspiciously

  


"He just pissed me off that's all." He answered defensively

  


"Well, I am going to find him and get some answers tomorrow." I told him

  


"I'll go too; I have some questions I'd like answered." He replied

  


"I'll ask Ed tomorrow where we might find him." I said walking into the main room fiddling with my necklace

  


"Ed will be happy he is back." Jet said

  


"I wish I could be." I murmured as I walked to the couch and fell asleep. This was the first time I fell asleep on the couch in a year.

  


I saw Jet watch me as I fell down on the couch not even bothering with pajamas. In spite of my emotional troubles I fell asleep quite easily, I guess I was just emotionally and physically exhausted from that day. 

  


I woke up to see Ed looking at me with her amber eyes puzzled and confused. "Ed…hey." I said groggily

  


"Why are you sleeping on the couch Faye?" She asked I noted that she no longer referred to me as faye-faye or Jet as Jet-person, she was actually growing up, slowly.

  


"I was too tired to go to my room Ed." I sat up and straightened out my outfit that became disheveled when I was asleep.

  


"Oh ok, Jet is up and he said that you wanted Ed to find something." Ed grinned and put her Tomato on her head.

  


"Oh yes, I want you to find him Ed. Find Spike for me." I asked 

  


"Why choose to find him now Faye?" Ed appeared puzzled I remember Jet and I haven't said his name on Bebop for ages.

  


"I think it's time for him to come home Ed." I smiled at her, trying to put on a convincing act.

  


"Ok Faye!" she flipped and in a wind-swift motion began to hack away through ISSP files. After a while she came back

  


"There is nothing in the police database on Spike except they said he died two years ago, just after I left. Faye, what happened?" Ed looked really confused as if she didn't know which to believe. Her data or her friends

  


"Spike didn't die, Ed. The police are wrong. Search in any files that have to do with the Red Dragons." I decided to put it simply for her first, later I would explain the whole story behind Spike.

  


"Ok Faye!" In a matter of minutes she pulled up at least a dozen data windows that had to do with Spike.

  


"Jet, Jet come here quick! I think Spike is in some trouble here." I gazed at a window reading it quickly

  


"Huh, you mean more than he is already in with me?" He said both seriously and comically. 

  


"Look at this, it says that Spike Spiegel assassinated the Red Dragon Syndicate leader, Vicious. After the assassination, Spike refused to take part in the Syndicate any longer; he denied the position of being the leader of the Syndicate and soon disappeared. The new leader of the syndicate, a loyal supporter of Vicious named Scythe, has put a bounty on Spike's head of 45,000,000 woolongs. He has also proclaimed that Spike must be working for another Syndicate such as the Black Pegasus, Green Gryphons or the White Phoenix. All of the other Syndicates have put a rivaling bounty on his head as well claiming they had nothing to do with the assassination of Vicious." I gasped after I read this. Spike has been hunted now for years, and by not one, but by four Syndicates. I thought to myself could this be the reason he never returned to Bebop was because he didn't want any trouble to come to us? 

  


"Holy mother of God, Spike is being hunted by four syndicates. How come we haven't heard about this Ed?" Jet appeared to be angry, I was more worried than angry.

  


"Ed only gets bounties from ISSP, not dirty bounties like Syndicate bounties." Ed explained "Ed never thought of looking in the syndicate for bounties because you and Faye did not like the Syndicate."

  


"Jet, what are we going to do? Even if we find Spike how can we get the bounties lifted?" I looked down at my feet

  


"We could turn him in…" Jet said

  


"Jet!" I yelled; Even though he's only kidding

  


"Settle down, We could… just go after Spike like we were going to turn him in… but we 'kill' him." He winked

  


"Jet, that actually makes sense. We could fake his death that way the Syndicates will just drop the bounties." I smiled

  


"Hey Ed, can you figure out where Spike might be now?" I asked

  


"Hmm Ed will try." After a while of searching she came up with nothing "Sorry faye."

  


"It's ok, I have an idea where he might be, I'll go there. You two can inform the syndicates that we are looking for him." I ran got my glock and climbed in the Red Tail. I heard Jet yell something at me but I was too busy checking for ammo, and lifting off to take heed. I hoped he would be there, if he wasn't I'd have to wait for him, I hate waiting.

  


I can't lose him now, not that I found him, now that I can figure out the truth behind his disappearance.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	3. I am free to live

!I do not own Cowboy Bebop!

 SEQ CHAPTER \h \r 1I am free to live 

Spikes POV

            I stood by my grave and looked down at the place where she cried that she loved me. I knelt down where her tears fell on the dying grass. I stared at the places where she pounded her fists into the soft earth. I winced as I pricked my finger on the same thorn again by accident; the same thorn that Faye pricked her finger on that day. I have suffered many injuries before, falling out of churches, my eye, broken bones, stitches, and even sword slash marks, but none compare to the pain I feel when I prick my finger on that thorn. I feel as if when I prick my finger that a whole wave of someone else's pain flows into my body, paralyzing me. I know who that someone else is too…Faye. I know it, even though it is unspeakably difficult to even think of her name. I often replay my past in my head like Faye's video cassette, only instead of trying to remember, like she did, I'm trying to figure out what went wrong. I suppose the largest mistake I had was leaving; well, no, actually, the way I left. I had to leave, I had to close the door of my past, and the only way to do that was through Vicious. I remember after fighting him, hobbling down the once grand staircase, Thoughts came pouring into my head, visions kept pouring into my head. I knew that something was happening; I knew I was waking up from a lifelong dream.

_'Julia…I… am so sorry things didn't turn out the way we wanted them too. You knew I never wanted to hurt you in any way, but it looks like you died because of our dream. I never thought things would have turned out the way they did. If I had known you would have died because of this dream, I would have let you go a while ago…I would have let you go and live your life with someone else before it got too involved. I will miss you Julia, but not for long anyway. It looks like I'm going to be with you a lot sooner than I thought I would. It looks like we will be living a dream together after all. Although it will be a totally different one._

_Then a wave of nausea swept over me like a burning fire._

_Faye… Faye I can't even think of what I did to you, of what I should have done for you. I left you there like Julia left me. I broke your heart and left a burn in its place, didn't I? Oh god, if I could only make it up to you, If I could only make you see… that you make me want to be a better person. Faye you make me want to improve myself, and you don't even know it. You bring out sides of me, I never even thought existed. You, in your own way, got in through my closed heart and began to open windows of happiness. You made me feel happy, content, and at peace, but at the same time you made me want to see my mistakes and correct them myself. In every instance of my life I have fucked up, this one is the one, where feel by far the worst. I'm sorry I'm going to die Faye, unless some of these Syndicate asses feel up to saving me. I'm going to die here with a mountain of regrets on my back. I'm sorry I didn't say goodbye to you properly, and I'm sorry I never as kind to you as I'd like to have been, but I'm sorry most of all for all the pain I caused you.  Goodbye space cowgirl._

_That's when I put up my hand, and shaped it into a gun._

_'Bang'_

_Then I lost all consciousness._

Ever since my latest near-death experience I changed. Who couldn't have changed after a near death experience and waking up from a life-long dream? I am still not sure if it is a good change, or if I like it, but I have become, how should I put it? I guess more passionate. I don't know any other guys who would just openly cry like I did in that bar. I just felt so horrible when I looked her pain filled emerald eyes, I felt like I was looking at her broken, crying heart. Wow, that was a strong analogy, broken crying heart; I would have never thought I would be thinking of that. I was never that emotional toward Julia or anyone else. I am actually on that emotional when I am around, or think about Faye. I don't know why I picked that time to become that way, either. It might not have even been me, it might have been an act of god, or even more plausible, an act of fate. I think it might be a sign that I should change, that I am now meant to change. It might even be the sign that I have finally waken up from my lifelong dream with Julia and Vicious. It probably is the sign that my past is finally behind me rather than ahead of me. I can finally live now, rather than just dream, I can live with them on Bebop. I am free of my past, free to live my life from now on, the way I want to live it. Free to live with Faye...free to live with my Faye.

             I should have never left her crying like that, I should have never said to her those things I said. I should have told her that I'll never forget her, I should have held her, and told her to move on and forget about me, but I didn't. I did none of those things, and I know why too, I am too damn selfish and arrogant. I have always been selfish and arrogant, since before I could remember. I have never cared about the consequences of my actions, I certainly didn't then. The only thing on my mind was killing Vicious, and dying, to see Julia up in heaven; that was it. I was so blinded by my own arrogance and selfishness that I didn't see I was killing the people closest to me, Ed, Jet and especially Faye. The thing that kills me the most is I can't blame my behavior on any one else but myself. I can't blame it on Vicious, I could never blame it on Julia, and most certainly cannot blame it on Faye. This mess of a life that Faye and Jet lead now is my entire fault. If I hadn't left her crying then everything would be different, everything would have changed for the better. If I wasn't so selfish, Julia and Vicious could have been alive. Perhaps Vicious and I would have not been enemies. If I wasn't so selfish I'd probably be back on Bebop with Jet, Ed and Faye. 

            Through the past two years I wished that they would come back to Mars to try to find me. That must sound crazy, looking for a dead man. I thought that Ed would stumble upon the encoded bounties though.  I would have gone looking for them, but my Swordfish II was sold to a pawn shop. I met the guy, he said he would try to hold it for me if he didn't have any good offers on it, or any of its parts. I haven't seen him though in months, it could be gone for all I know. There is a special bond between a man and his ship. It's the only thing that will take the abuse you give it and only ask for a hangar in return. That ship, even if it was a reddish almost pink color, and an antique, was the best ship of them all. That thing can do anything, we are a team, being able to pull any bounty off with twin machine guns, a cannon and a high powered engine. We had our fights though, I would kick it, and it would stop in the middle of space for no reason at all. Each Ship, car, machine has its own personality that matches to only one person. The Swordfish and I are defiantly the perfect personality match. We are true partners, and I doubt that the Swordfish will ever perform as well as someone else, as it does with me. It reminds me of the stronger bond between Jet and I. Jet and I are the dysfunctional partnership everyone envied. Actually, we are the dysfunctional family every one wanted. He is the older brother I never had, and the dad I always wanted. I miss the guy a lot. I miss our small talk, our drinking games, our smoking bonding time, even his cooking, well, I miss making fun of it. We are the best bounty hunting team this side of the galaxy, there was nothing we can't do. He makes getting a bounty easy, it's as if we have the same brain or something, perhaps we are telekinetic. I miss just hanging with him, He is a great guy. He would make a terrific father, if given the chance. I'd hate to see the lady who would marry the guy. Nah, I'm sure his wife would be just fine, although I doubt he'll find another girl after his girlfriend on Ganemede. The closest he'll come to an actual kid is Ed. she is crazy, but she is a good kid, who is really smart, I bet she has grown up in these two years. 

             I was so sure that they had found the Syndicate bounty postings. When I saw Jet at that bar It thought that he was looking for me. I was at complete dismay when I had found out not only had I revealed to my best friend I was faking my death, but figuring out that they weren't here to find me. I lost it, I snapped at Jet and insulted Faye, I think the vodka played a role in it, but I should have known better. I deserve a lot more than a punch in the face. 

  


            I felt a cold breeze swirl around me, a spring fresh aroma filled the air, it reminded me of that day when Faye came to my grave with the long-stemmed red rose with all its thorns. I remember that I was there visiting Julia's grave, which was on the other side of the cemetery. I was still mourning for her and what happened to us. That mistake was the easiest to mourn about. I had just begun to get up and go back into hiding, I'll get into hiding later, when I heard a voice that seemed to some from the past. I thought I was losing it, but I looked at where they had, had my funeral and sure enough, Faye was there at my grave, sobbing. I don't know why we had both picked this particular time to come to the cemetery; I guess it was fate's doing. I listened as to her cry from behind a tree, trying to figure out what she was going to say. What I heard made my heart shatter into a million pieces, and my body go numb. I collapsed down behind the tree in shock and disbelief. I remember talking to myself.

'_I thought I hurt her, but never this much. I feel like curling up and dying right here. I can't even fathom the pain I feel. I feel what she feels. I feel like my heart was ripped out of my chest.'_

_ 'She thinks that I didn't care about her at all. I wouldn't blame her, this was all my fault.'_

_'I was never there for her. I always had some jack ass excuse or comment why I never went after her.' _

_'She was always there for me. She thought that she didn't even help much or wasn't wanted, but I always wanted her there, I was just too damn cocky to admit it I guess.'_

_'The thing that hurts the most is that she loves me. She loves me in spite of what I did to her. I never knew she loved me that much. I had a hint that she did have a crush on me, but I would have never guessed that she loved me, especially after something like that.'_

_'That is the strongest love I have ever heard of, and it came from the same person that I crushed. I hate myself.'_

_'Dammit why couldn't just see that before? I almost inadvertently threw it all away I am a dumb ass.'_

_'I can't take this any more, I can't stand not being around her. Her velvet violet hair, her deep emerald eyes, her coy little smile and her rose pedal soft skin. I miss her, I miss her so much, I can't even go over there.'_

            I just wanted to run over there and hold her and tell her that I was sorry and that I will never let her go. I wanted to cradle her in my arms and whisper in her ears that I… I love her. There were an infinite number of reasons why I didn't go though. 

            The first was because of Julia. I had, at the time, not quite gotten over her loss. I was in love with her, after all. I thought to honor her; I would wait until after I felt perfectly ok with it, to go to Faye. I still sometimes dreamt of Julia and the fairy tale life we could have lived. I looking back on it now, find it impossible to have a fairy tale life with out Faye though, as corny as that may sound. In order to lead a fairy tale life with Julia, I would need, I think, more than just Julia. In order to lead a fairy tale life with Faye, I didn't need anything else.

            The second reason why was because I didn't know if Faye would still love me if I had been alive and not told her or Jet. What were the chances that she would believe a farfetched story like mine any way? I don't think she would ever love me again, I think the pain I caused her would have been more than she could bear. She would have given me up and gone for some other guy who appreciated how beautiful and special she was. I guess I was still selfish, wanting Faye's love to last and not to be jeopardized by me.

            The third, most complicated, reason was because of the cemetery security guard near where Faye was. If I went over there, Faye would tell me that I was dead, but I actually was alive. If that cop ever found out Spike Spiegel, otherwise me, was alive, then he would alert the ISSP and then my cover would be blown. Every bounty hunter this side of the galaxy would hunt me down and turn me in to whichever Syndicate, or ISSP, paid them the most. I had to stay hidden, so that I wouldn't be killed by Scythe or his ring of hired bounty hunters.The last thing I wanted to do is die, but the last thing I wanted to happen is to be found alive. If only someone else besides those stupid Syndicate saved me then, everything would be different. I couldn't go back to Bebop because I would drag Faye and jet into the Syndicate mess. I wanted to go back badly, but I couldn't because of one fatal mistake I made, of giving Scythe the position of the leader of the Red Dragon syndicate. I remember waking up in a hospital three weeks later. 

_'Where am I?'  Immediately my memory of past sped through my head. The heart shattering Vision of  Faye crying stuck in my head._

_'Why Mr. Spiegel you have finally regained consciousness, now we can talk.'_

_I turned to see someone I have never seen before, He was tall, but not lanky like I was, he had a more muscular build. He had dark hair that was pushed back, but not slicked back, it was if his hair naturally grew that way. He was formally dressed in suit and tie, his tie having the emblem of the Red Dragons on it. The most distinct feature of him, however, was his steely slate blue eyes._

_'Who are you?' my voice scratchy from lack of use_

_'I am Scythe, A prior associate of the late Vicious.' his slate blue eyes flashed and a small grin came on his dark face_

_'Why are you here? Did you bring me to this hospital?' I looked at the IVs in my arm and scratched at them, I noticed that most of my wounds had almost completely healed including the large one on my abdomen. _

_'We need to talk about the future leader of the Red Dragon Syndicate.' He laced his fingers together and smirked, his slate blue eyes suddenly became sharp._

_'What's there to talk about?' I sharply hissed back, I could tell I wasn't going to like this guy, he seemed like he was hiding something._

_'Technically, Mr Spiegel, you are the next person to ascend to the leadership position.' He leaned in like a businessman trying to get the attention of a client._

_'And...' I wanted to know why he cared if I was the heir or not, he seemed suspicious, I couldn't put a finger on what exactly though._

_'Well, quite frankly, I'd like to take that position off of your hands, in return, all charges of you killing Vicious will be dropped.' He smirked and he stood up beside me _

_'What's the catch?' The deal sounded like a great one, I wanted nothing to do with the Red Dragons anymore, I just wanted to live in peace back on Bebop, with Faye, Jet and Ed. Only they could help me get over Julia._

'_You will have to fake your death; you will have your funeral in the cemetery downtown._ _Allow me to elaborate, you will have to fake your death, and stay in hiding, in order for no bounty hunters to find you, and turn you in.'_

_'Why do I need to worry about bounty hunters if the charges will be dropped?' I asked, something about this deal was a little odd_

_'There were syndicate witnesses to the murder Mr. Spiegel, If you are still alive, it will raise questions. Those questions might just make people wonder about my liability. I can't just kill them because some of the witnesses were members of the Black Pegasus Syndicate and I can't kill other syndicate's men in a time of peace between the Syndicates now can I?' he produced the speech flawlessly, It was almost as if he had thought of the answers before hand. I really was getting a bad vibe from this guy, I wanted him to shut up and leave me alone_

_'Why can't I get an alias and not stay in hiding?' I  bet he is getting irritated with my questions. It's fun irritating people, especially people who seem to take what they are talking about seriously._

_'The ISSP found you here in the hospital, they know what you look like, they will find you with an alias.'_

_His eyes flashed again as he shifted his weight in his chair showing me a glimpse of a gun in his breast pocket._

_I didn't want to fake my death, or get shot for that matter, but I had one more question, 'Why do you care if I'm found or not?'_

_'I don't want you saying in the interrogation room that I put you up to this_,_ I mean I would look suspicious right? A person, who until now, had no direct relation to the Red Dragons, suddenly appear as the leader._'

_'I suppose, Ok fine, I'll accept the offer, under one more condition.' I smirked as I looked around my room and saw the open window_

_'What is that?' he looked curious_

_'You pay my hospital bill.' I smirked and put my hands behind my nappy green afro of hair._

_'Deal' he shook my hand quickly, and walked from the room 'Oh and one other thing, not a word to anyone about this. You are now officially dead, Spike Spiegel, not a word' He then took out his gun and shot it at me. The bullet pierced the pillow and a red capsule in the bullet cracked open making a red stain on the pillow. It looked like real blood I noticed it was the same color._

_'Who would I tell?' I took out the IVs and hunted for my clothes and gun. I found my washed clothes, but no gun. I gritted my teeth._

'_You never know... the people who will set up your funeral arrangements perhaps...' His slate blue eyes flashed as he put on a white doctors coat and ran out down the hall._

_'...' I was immediately reminded of Faye, I woke up from my dream life to only find out I am to stay away from her.  some life I get to lead now, maybe some day I'll find her again. I quickly opened the window to me tenth story room and climbed out scaling down the building slowly._

I didn't like that last thing he said, it sounded like a threat to me. If I had known he would take the position only to illegally put bounties on my head, I would have killed him in the hospital room.  There is one thing, however I have yet to figure out and that is why hunt me down? Why not just leave me be, I mean why in the hell would I squeal? Something didn't add up, and this in one mystery I have yet to have figured out. 

Just then a cemetery security guard came up behind me. 

"Excuse me sir, but I see you here often I just thought like saying hi." the seemingly friendly guard smiled, he was short and stocky and he had deeply set red eyes under glasses. He had brown hair and balding.  He was not, however, the same guard I saw usually around here. This didn't stick out because I bet no one likes to work in a cemetery anyway.

"Hello, actually this the first time I've seen you here, there is usually a taller guard on duty. My name is…Goujo." I answered thinking about this little security guard and why he came up to him.

"Well, no one usually pays attention to cemetery security guards do they?" He chuckled and grinned lowly "Just call me... George." His red eyes flashed and turned to walk away.

"Curious George…curious." I muttered under my breath as I saw him walk slowly away towards the gate of the cemetery  

            I looked down at my head stone again, I sighed a heavy sad sigh. A type of sigh I am now getting used to. I was just about to head out of the cemetery when I heard a voice from the distance, like a sweet warm melody in my ear I turned around quick.

"Spike... Spike are you here?" I heard a shaky voice call out across the cemetery in the direction of Julia's grave

"Faye... is that you?" I yelled, I hoped I didn't sound as exited as I felt. I looked and saw a distant figure in the distance wearing yellow. I saw the figure turn and run over to me.

"Spike, you're here, I knew you would be!" She seemed excited to have found out where I was. She ran into my arms and I held her small figure tight. I didn't know what to say I felt as if my heart had melted I was so happy, I didn't want to talk first, I didn't want to ruin the moment, no matter how short it may be.

"Spike... why did you run from me in the bar? Could you not stand to be around me?" I heard her melodic voice ask as she looked into my eyes

"No, that wasn't it, To tell the truth I couldn't stand what I had done to you...It hurt too much to stay." I said looking down into her spherical emerald eyes. 

"I know... about the syndicate bounties, Is that why you never returned to Bebop?"

"The main reason, I didn't want to get you in jeopardy. I also didn't have a ship either." I grinned

"We had to sell it to pay for your funeral!" She snapped, apparently hurt that I was thinking of my ship at this time.

"I'm sorry, but that was the main reason." I looked at down at her with an apologetic smile

"Jet and I have a plan to rid you of those bounties, We are going to go after you and 'kill' you in the process." She looked at me hopefully for approval

"I trust you, it sounds like a good plan." I tried to put on a hopeful act, but Syndicates were very hard to fool. I tried to force my self into believing this plan of theirs, but it was hard considering that there was a slim margin of error.

She smiled, I love that smile of hers, It has a certain seductiveness mixed with the equally as proportional innocence. Before I knew it, I pulled her close to me as I leaned down and kissed her lightly on her lips.

"Spike..." She looked at me with sad eyes "Spike, I love you, but I hate you for leaving, I understand why you didn't come back or at least I think I do-" I put a finger to her lips 

"Faye, as much as I hate to admit it, I had to leave. I had to face my past that one last time to put it behind me. The thing I regret is how I said goodbye, I left you crying there.  What I should, and wanted, but didn't do was to hold you and say how much I loved you." I looked down at her trying to figure out what she was going to do next. I tried looking deep into her sparkling emerald eyes to read them.

"Spike, I thought you loved Julia." She threw her arms around my body as I felt warm tears against my body

"Faye, you have always been there for me, you loved me when I was too blind to see it, and cried for me when you noticed I was abandoning you. You make me want to become a better person, by opening your heart and showing me my many, many flaws. I thought my chest exploded when you cried for me at my grave that day, I never want to hurt you like that again." I looked down at her and my expression turned more serious 

 "I will never hurt you like that again, I owe my happiness and life to you Faye. You make me want to be alive, Julia was a good girl, but I never felt as nearly as deeply for her as I feel for you. Please believe me that I am sorry." I looked away, at first not wanting to hear what her answer was, If it was no, then I seriously would just turn myself in to the syndicates.

I then felt the light touch of her fingertips turn my jaw towards her as she kissed my lips softly. She broke it off slowly  and whispered "I love you space cowboy." 

"Spike, I forgive you. You don't know how hard it is to hold even the strongest of grudges against you, do you?" She laughed and her eyes twinkled.

"What can I say, I'm irresistible!" I laughed 

"I wouldn't go that far lunk head." She elbowed me in the side as she leaned against me

            I don't exactly know what came over me, all I knew is that I wanted to kiss her. I took her in my long arms and kissed her full on her lips. Her lips felt warm and sweet as they parted and I slid my tongue in gently. I put my hand on her soft cheek and held it there as I strengthened the kiss more. I felt her smaller tongue slide up and down mine as I explored her mouth fully. I wanted to know everything about her. I felt her hand slide around my neck and push through my green hair. I then pulled away gently and looked down at her through love's eyes. 

"Hey, um, where do we go now?" I asked curious since it was only afternoon.

"Well, you did say something about your Swordfish, We are going to get it back. I called Jet when I came over here and we are going to meet Jet at the pool hall you guys were at, to talk about the plan." She grinned and twirled her finger around on my chest.

"How are you planning to get the Swordfish back? Do you have money?" I asked

"My luck turned around at the craps table." She smirked as we exited the cemetery and went towards her Red Tail

            I laughed as we left, I noticed out of the corner of my eye that the Security guard had been looking at us, that bothered me a little, but I didn't let it get to me. I was with her, and everything seemed to be turning around. This is the first time I have ever been in the cemetery when I haven't even wanted to go to Julia's grave. There have been times that I have been at the cemetery, and didn't go to her grave but wanted to. This time, however, was very different than the last times. I finally feel alive.

"Hey Faye, um there's a problem." I said

"Huh, what is it?" She turned and looked at me

  


"Can both of us can fit in the Red Tail?" I laughed scratched my head to add full effect

"Fine then, I'll go alone." She said as she smirked coyly

"No, we both have to go, I have a deal set up with the guy, and you have the money." I told her as I grinned

"The Red tail is my ship, and what I say goes, I'll go alone." She smiled coyly as she turned to get on the ship

"I don't want you going alone, ok?" I finally confessed half reluctantly

"Ok, we will go together." She said "I fly though." she grinned as she poked me on the arm

"Ok, that's fine with me." I agreed

            I really don't know how we fit inside that thing but we did somehow. We kind of shared the seat only she was more in my lap, I think we might have accidentally fired off a few rounds of machine gun fire trying to take off. She ended up taking off though. I got elbowed a couple of times, and I think so did Faye. Since I was partially behind her, I held her tiny frame from behind, and kissed all around her neck while she was piloting. I half consciously cupped my hands around her breasts and gently massaged them. I heard her giggle my name and something else, but I was too busy taking in her spring breeze scent and kissing her gently on her soft skin to take notice. I learned that if you are going to kiss someone while they are piloting make sure they aren't planning to make a 90 degree turn; because then you will end up bumping heads. We finally got to the pawn shop and we got out.

"Spike, I'll buy the Swordfish, but you owe me, big!" She laughed as we approached the owner

"I already know that." I ginned as I walked beside her putting my arm around her

"Hello there, what may I help you with?" the owner asked

"Um, I was wondering if you still had the Swordfish I sold to you?" Faye asked stepping forewords

"Oh that… are you sure you want it?" he asked uneasily as he led Faye around to the back of the pawn shop to the junkyard

"Yes, I'd like it back please." She told him as he took us the Swordfish II half buried in junk

"That will be about, 25,000 woolongs." The man told her quivering, I thought this odd.

 "I only have 20,000 woolongs, is that enough?" She handed him the money as I bit my lip

"Its ok Faye, 5,000 is on me, if you let me take care of Spike." I heard a voice cut coolly across the junkyard 

I turned around to see Scythe looking at us with his slate blue eyes.

"Hey, you're the guy from the casino…what do you want with Spike?" She glared at him 

"Nothing much, except for him to share the same fate as Vicious." His slate blue eyes flashed at me

"Faye get out of here now, let me handle Scythe." I yelled to her taking a fighting stance

"She isn't going anywhere." He smirked as the faux cemetery security guard appeared from behind some junk and held a gun to Faye's head

"Spike!" She shrieked as the security guard grabbed her gun from her shorts and emptied it of its clip. I heard him click the safety and look at me with blood red eyes.

"Scythe let her go! She has nothing to do with anything!" I yelled 

"Oh, but she does, you are going to suffer the same doom that Vicious suffered, seeing his loved one being slowly be taken from him." He then motioned to the guard. The guard took his gun and whacked Faye, hard, in the back of the head.

"Spi-" she gasped as her eyes glassed over and she slumped over in the guard's grip, unconscious.

"FAYE!" I yelled as I charged at the guard full force, wishing I still had my gun.

"Spike you stupid bastard, you don't get that you will never get to have her." His slate blue eyes flashed as he took out a gun and shot me in the chest. I lost consciousness as I fell to the ground.

Scythe…I'll get you…you son of a bitch I'll get you…


	4. authors note sorry if you thought this w...

=*^_^*= hi there cowboys and cowgirls! There is a correction in chapter one! @.@

**It should be Shin that is in the funeral not Lin, my bad!**

!thank you all reviewers! Please continue to read it gets better!


	5. In a fiery inferno

In a fiery inferno 

Jet's POV

  
  


I remember I yelled to Faye to be careful, but I doubt she heard me. A woman on a mission rarely listens. I sighed heavily, listening to Ed quickly tap away at her tomato; I suppose trying to get more information on Spike. I don't know what she really does half the time, but she doesn't get in trouble so I don't worry. I saw Ein sitting loyally beside her as if he were her best friend. Ein always does favor Ed and Spike over Faye and me. I think he liked Spike for the fact of saving him, but Ed for the fact that they get along together like two…somethings in a pod. They really connect, like they can figure out what the other feels and acts, and what to do about it. I know Ein is some sort of super dog, I suppose he can read human emotions. It would make sense I guess. 

  


I didn't realize I was staring at Ed and Ein until Ed slowly turned her head towards me. Her hair had gotten longer I noticed, her movements more fluid than when we first met her, and she actually began to…well…you know...develop a little. She still, however, had the same child like attributes to her. She still pretty much acted the same since the first day she came, but she seemed to be hiding something behind her innocent, crazy smile and her amber eyes. She turned with a slightly confused and sad expression on her face.

  


"Jet, what did happen to Spike?" She asked quietly

  


"Why did you come back?" I asked back, soft enough not to make her upset, but hard enough to give her the impression that I wanted an answer.

  


"Well, my father, he was what you call a cartographer on earth, was in the old city of Cairo near a pretty river called the Nile. This city had heavy meteor showers near it for a while, that is why father was there to pin point meteor landings. Ed stayed with father for a while, living in a building near an old oil well." Ed fidgeted around, I knew she didn't want to tell me, but it be best if she got it out of her.

  


"Then late at night Ed heard a large boom like a giant missile. Ed looked out of her room to see that Cairo was being struck with meteors. Father was out with his servant-person to pin point their locations; when a meteor hit the old oil well. It exploded and made everything around it into a giant fireball. I ran out with Ein to find father and servant person, but they had been near the oil well when it exploded and they were …dead." Ed's tears welled up with tears but she soon held them back

  


"Ed had people bury them under a meteor crater, so they could always be in the place they wanted to find. I then figured out that Ed and Ein had no other place to go but back here." Ed grinned largely and somersaulted.

  


"I'm sorry Ed, about your father; he was your only family." I wasn't expecting a story like that. I thought she would have just got bored and decided to come back.

  


"No, Bebop is Ed's family silly! You are Ed's father!" Ed grinned larger

  


"Sorry Ed but I am no ones father." I laughed; I couldn't be a father if I tried.

  


"Ed thinks you would be fantabulous father!" I think she made up the word fantabulous...she is strange

  


"Sure Ed... is fantabulous a word?" I asked, I would really like to know what does on in her bizarre brain 

  


"That is not important. Now, tell me Jet what happed to Spike?" Ed's eyes got wide in anticipation "Faye doesn't like to talk about Spike at all, so I'm asking you." Ein barked as Ed flipped onto Ein.

  


"A few days after you left, he decided to leave, but he left for a much different reason Ed." I paused for a few seconds trying to figure out how to word this "He left because he couldn't let go of his past. He us left to… die." I thought for a second what to say next

  


"Faye tried to stop him, but he just left her in the corridor crying. He left us to die, but it's the _way_ he left us is what kills me. He's back now, I don't know why he came back when he did; maybe he felt guilty, maybe he is trying to get his ship back, or most likely he just wanted to see how we would react if he did come back." I stopped for a moment, I couldn't say anymore about Spike; Ed didn't need to know half of those things I did say. 

  


"Then Faye left a few weeks after his funeral, she was gone for a while, you remember. You came back right after Faye left. She came back though, I knew she would, she left _to_ return, the last thing she wanted to do was to become Spike. Faye left so she could return, Spike left so that he didn't have to look back, I guess his plan backfired." 

  


Ed sat up. "I know why Spike came back. He came back because he realized that Bebop was his family, just like Faye and Ed. Spike found out that we are his family, it just probably took him longer because he's taller." Ed smiled and put her goggles on her eyes as she began to hack away on Tomato.

  


"Ed you're a strange one." I turned to go water my bonsai. I couldn't help but think that she was right. Well, sort of right, she was on the right track she is just a little wacky. 

  


I went to my room to see that my trees, for some reason, were growing much faster and they look much healthier than they did a few days ago. I knew I didn't water them anymore than I usually did. I read in some article that bonsai grow to the emotions of the people that take care of them. I didn't believe this, how could a plant know how a person feels? Then again, Ein is a dog and he can read Ed's emotions, so why can't bonsai? A tree is a living thing, and so is a dog, and a human, it would only make sense that if a super dog could read emotions that my little bonsai could. Well, I think I have been somewhat livelier now that Spike is alive, but I don't think I could consider that happier. As I watered them slowly, I noticed that one of them was particularly overgrown. I picked up the bonsai and began to prune it when I accidentally clipped of one of its larger limbs.

  


"Damn!" I cursed at myself. I remember the last time I did that is when Spike was in trouble. I don't know what it means, but I rarely cut the bonsai that way. That reminds me, I need to call Faye and ask her if she found Spike yet. I picked up the communicator and dialed her number.

  


"Faye pick up."

  


"Yeah what is it Jet?"

  


"Where are you?"

  


"I'm in the Red Tail going to the cemetery."

  


"Why do you think he will be there?"

  


"Julia is there, he'll be there. Meet us at the pool hall you guys met at."

  


"Why at the pool hall? Why not on Bebop?"

  


"I want there to be witnesses incase you try kill him." 

  


"Fine, I wanted a drink anyway."

  


"Bye."

  


I turned off the communicator and walked down the hallway. 

  


"Ed, I'm going out, don't let Ein eat anything!" I yelled, knowing Ed she'll let Ein eat what is left of our food

  


"Okay, Okay! Bye Bye, Bye bye!" Ed waved while playing on tomato.

  


I walked toward my Hammer head and got in. I opened the hangar and flew out in the direction of the pool hall. I have a funny feeling about this; Syndicates are way over my head even when I was still in the ISSP. I never liked them, the violence they brought, the loyalties they crossed, the destruction they caused; all senseless and preventable. I know why Spike disappeared, I would have too. I really hope this doesn't become a huge mess, not that Spike isn't worth the trouble, I just don't like cleaning up his messes. I think he stayed hidden for a reason, I don't know what that reason is at this moment. Something tells me he would have come back under normal circumstances. I missed that kid, I'm glad he is back now, even though he did leave us. God, I hope I'm not turning into an old softie. That's the last thing I'd like to be right now, old and soft.

  
  


I sat at the Pool hall for what seemed to be days. Faye, for some reason, is four hours late, she probably couldn't find Spike. At least I hope that's all it is, if she got caught cheating at another casino I'm not bailing her out. I wonder if this plan will work or not. Syndicates are very hard to fool. We only have to fool one, the other three will just call off the bounties and take our word for it that he is dead. The other three really don't care if he is alive anyway; they just put up the bounty to say that they don't want anything to do with Spike. This plan seems logical, but all logic these days has been twisted into an almost unreachable form. I hope it will work; I'm ready for things to be back to normal, or as close to normal as they can possibly get. I called the Red Dragon Syndicate right after Faye left, to say that I would be tracking down Spike, but they didn't respond, only a voice recording that stated

  


_Any Bounty Hunters after any bounties funded by the Red Dragon Syndicate please know that we will only take the bounty if it is alive._

  


Damn voice recordings can't they just pick up a damn communicator and just tell me 'yes you can work for Red Dragon Syndicate.' It wouldn't be that hard. 

  


I motioned for the bartender to give me my third vodka; I was just about to drink it when I heard a person run in from the dingy doorway. I looked to see Spike, out of breath, with a new expression painted over his face. I had never seen him with this expression on his face as long as I knew him; I don't exactly know what it is. He ran over to me and pulled me out of the pool hall into the dark alley.

  


"Spike where in the hell have you been?" I asked

  


"Jet, I need your help something's happened." His eyes were wide with worry and his eyebrows slightly slanted

  


I know now what that expression is, it is fear. Fear is the one expression that Spike would never have. Spike was always fearless, but then again times have changed. I have never once saw fear in his eyes; it scared me. If he is scared about something chances are I will be too. It must be something terrible to bring about fear. It hit me; I realized what must have happened. Something must have happened to Faye. My bonsai are right again, I don't know if it was a coincidence that I cut the branch, or if it were an act of fate.

  


"Spike, where's Faye?" I asked urgently I felt my gray eyes flash

  


"He took her...Scythe, He has Faye!" He almost broke down; I could tell he was very distraught. I took him by the collar quickly.

  


"How did this happen?" I asked him irritated, how could he let this happen?

  


"We were getting my ship when he ambushed us, grabbed Faye, and shot me in the chest with a damn tranquilizer bullet." He spilled out guiltily, his eyes clouded with overlapping emotion. I let go of his collar.

  


"Why does he want Faye? I thought he was after you." I asked him lowly

"It's about Vicious; I think he wants revenge for what I did to Vicious. He said that he's going to kill Faye how Julia was taken from Vicious. It's a game to him; he left Faye's Glock and her Red Tail fully functional, like he was inviting me to follow him." He gritted his teeth as his garnet eyes flashed a reddish color

  


"How does he know Vicious?" I asked him

  


"I don't know, he wasn't at all involved with the Red Dragons or any other Syndicate, I don't think until-" He stopped abruptly

  


"Until what Spike? You are going to have to tell me everything if you want me to help you." I demanded

  


"Until I gave him my position in the Syndicate, after I killed Vicious and woke up in the hospital . I gave him the position of Leader of the Red Dragons." He confessed "I never thought he'd go after you guys though, especially if I never returned to Bebop. You have got to believe me Jet; I would never want this to happen." He said with a very serious tone, it occurred to me that the reason why he never returned was mostly because he didn't want the Syndicate to go after Faye and me. Now that the Syndicate has Faye, he thinks that his sacrifice was in vain and he doesn't know where to turn. I knew something prevented him from coming back; he isn't as much as a lunk head as I thought he was.

  


"Listen Spike, we can't tackle a Syndicate on our own, especially if he knows we are coming, is there anyone on the inside that can help us?" I asked looking at him with his head in his hands sitting on the ground.

  


"Shin, he can help us. I think he still holds a high rank in the Syndicate, but I have no idea how to contact him." He looked up thinking "I don't know if he even wants to speak to me again after giving the position to Scythe, damn."

  


"Shin, he was at the fire fight wasn't he? I thought he died, but he was at your funeral." I thought through my mind if this guy could be trusted. "Faye does have her communicator, but they probably confiscated it. We could try it though." I said as I took it out. He immediately grabbed it from my hands and dialed her number.

  


"Spike wait! They will hear the communicator ring." I yelled at him

  


"They know we are coming already-" he looked into the communicator hopefully, his face slightly dimmed when he saw Shin instead of Faye. "Shin, Shin is that you?" he whispered through the communicator hoarsely.

  


I heard a young smooth voice say clearly through the communicator three phrases.

  


"Flying Dove, Scorpion Stings soon, way of the setting sun." Then he turned off the communicator

  


"Wait Shin, I want to talk Faye!" He yelled desperately through the turned off communicator.

  


"What did he mean by that?" I confusedly asked. I wonder if Shin is ok in the head

  


"Its old Syndicate code, he says that Faye's ok, but Scythe has little patience and might hurt her soon. He also says that the defense is lightest on the West wing of the building and that we should attack that way." He said simply his garnet eyes were singed with hate, worry and despair.

  


"This is all my fucking fault Jet, Faye's going to get hurt because of me... and now I'm dragging you into it. This is the one thing I have been trying to prevent from happening, but it looks as if I didn't do a very good job; did I?" He frowned as he got up and put his hands in his pockets

  


"Spike, we are going to bring Faye back in one piece. Now stop feeling sorry for yourself and bring your ass back to Bebop so that we can get Ed's help." I told him as I began to walk toward my Hammerhead

  


"Jet, I'm sorry, for…you know." He told me as we walked to our ships

  


I looked at him for a moment "Well, I suppose I can forgive you if Faye did. Hey how did you get the Swordfish back?" I asked him curiously

  


"Well, I kinda made a trade, Faye's Red Tail for my Swordfish." He grinned slightly

  


"Spike when we get her back, she is going to kill you." I chuckled

  


"Well, I did get money from the trade, and she has her own money so… I'm sure she will be able to get the Red Tail back." He put his arms behind his head and smiled faintly "I can always trade my ship back in for hers also." He smiled as his eyes unfocused in front of him and a faint smile appeared on his lips. That smile soon turned into a frown and he said lowly 

  


"I'm not going to let my past kill Faye; I won't let her die." He looked at me with clear eyes 

  


Spike loves her alright, I'm glad he's finally realized that. Dumbass, to think he almost threw it all away too.

  


"Yeah, c'mon Romeo, we have to get Ed's help so that we can get a good plan." I got in my hammerhead and began to head back to bebop "Follow me." I said as we sped off back to Bebop.

  


I began to try to process the info in my brain. Scythe was Vicious' friend, so where was he for the past three years, I have never heard of him even in ISSP. Who is this guy? If they didn't meet through the Syndicate, or Spike… then where? I don't know, and you know what, I don't care, all I know is that he is planning to kill Faye for some really fucked up reason, and I think we will put a stop to that. Spike and I will stop this Syndicate trash dead in his tracks, and make him wish he wasn't even born. It's almost like old times, only there is a lot more on the line then a few woolongs. Spike will stop at nothing to save Faye, and I will stop at nothing to make sure he doesn't die along the way. Ha, without me Spike would be dead a while ago I bet. I always did have to look out for the lunk head; I'm more like his…his father… No, no no nonono. I am no body's father, my god; I'm only like ten years older than Spike is. I can even be his brother! Yeah, I could be his brother…nah. Come to think of it I don't even know what the hell I am, and I sure would like to know. As long as I'm no ones grandfather … I am not old and soft. Hmph. 

"Jet…Jet... um we're at Bebop you can get out of the Hammer head now…" Spike yelled up to me with his head cocked to one side, his eyes trying to hide a unmistakable nervous despair

"Oh, sorry… yeah…" I quickly got out of the hammerhead and proceeded down the hall to Ed and her tomato. I saw out of the corner of my eye a flash of brown fur and a wisp of pink as they flew past me and tackled Spike.

"Spike is back Ein, I told you he'd come back!" Ed said sitting Indian-style on top of Spike, with Ein licking Spikes cheek happily.

"Hey there Ed, I see that at least two of us haven't changed." Spike said trying to get up and dodging Ein's licks at the same time. I could tell that Spike was glad to see Ed and Ein, but it was impossible for him to be happy.

"Stop fooling around Ed, you need to help us with something again." I said quickly trying to get back on the subject.

"Ok jet-father!" Ed called as she cart wheeled past me and plopped down next to her Tomato

"Jet… father?" Spike asked

"I don't know, I really wonder about that kid sometimes, I am no ones father." I folded my arms across my chest

"I think you'd make a great father, a cook, a technician, a florist and a nagger all rolled into one." Spike chuckled as he walked past me to Ed

"Shut up Spike! Jack ass…" I yelled at him

"Jet father where is Faye?" Ed asked 

"Don't call me that!" I yelled again, I really hate it when people can't just call me Jet. I avoided the topic of Faye for the time being, I think it would just make Spike more uneasy.

"Ed, I need you to look up Scythe for me, and cross reference Vicious." Spike asked quietly with a serious undertone.

Ed looked at Spike and merely nodded her fingers moved wildly as she searched. "AHA here we are! It says that Vicious and Scythe were trafficking Red Eye together! This also says that Vicious was a soldier along side Scythe and Gren on Titan." Ed announced

"Wha? So they met on Titan? What else is there?" I asked, I saw that Spike was thinking

"Um…Oh wait, it says here that Scythe is also nicknamed the Scorpion and is rumored that he tried to kill numerous people including Gren with some of his very own scorpions. After the war, an anonymous person sent Gren to prison, and had Gren illegally put on the drug Red eye with out prior testing. The person that had him imprisonned was said to be Vicious, but rumored also to be Scythe himself." Ed read the card confused

"I see now, Scythe got jealous of Gren and his friendship with Vicious and tried to take him out of the picture. I don't get one thing though, how come we never met this Scythe guy before? And another thing, If he was so close to Vicious than why didn't he get involved with the Syndicate sooner?" Spike's head was reeling with facts

"Well, I could care less; I want to know where he is now Ed." I asked as nonchalantly as possible, although I was intrigued by this Gren, and this whole Titan war. 

"Scythe is in the new Red Dragon Syndicate headquarters." Ed announced

"New? I didn't know they got a new base." I rubbed my black hair, I must have been out of the picture longer than I thought.

"Yeah, it's larger, grander, and more heavily defended than a military compound." Spike told me his lips locked in a tight frown

"So… we can penetrate it right?" I asked him

"Well, yes but even the two of us will barely be able to handle the West wing." Spike growled sitting on the couch

"That is where Ed comes in, Ed will make distraction!" Ed grinned and flipped 

"Ed, how you don't even have a ship-"Spike sputtered 

"Yes she does, but that is besides the point, there is no way you are going to take on a Syndicate army with an old cab." I crossed my arms

"No silly, not with lobster, with Spikes ship!" Ed wailed happily

"Huh?" Spike and I both said together

"Scythe will be expecting Swordfish and hammerhead, but not lobster! Spike will sneak lobster into the West wing gate." Ed pointed on her tomato to the west gate. "I will pilot Swordfish and shoot down Syndicate baddies!" Ed growled and threw up her arms and pretended to be Spikes ship, flying around Spike and I.

"Ed! Who gave you permission to fly my Swordfish anyway?" Spike gritted his teeth

"You want to get Faye back don't you?" Ed asked seriously, her amber eyes riddled with a serious undertone

"Wait, how did you know about Faye?" I asked curiously

"I could tell by the strange way Spike was acting, and she isn't here." Ed smiled

"Well, I still don't know Ed, you are a bad pilot, I have seen your skill." I laughed

"Give Ed a chance! Ed is not baby anymore! Ed can pilot Ship, Ed can shoot guns, Ed can do whatever Ed wants!" Ed frowned

"Fine Ed, go ahead, but if you crash my ship, I get to keep yours." Spike grinned "What do you think dad?" Spike looked at me smirking

I glared at him "Ed you can go, but I'll back you up, so you don't get your ass blown to hell." I said simply, I hope not to come across too harsh, but the harsher I was, the more serious Ed will be.

"Ok Jet fa- shall we go?" Ed asked cutting off the father part

One second I walked to the Ice box and grabbed a handful of grenades, my gun and an extra Jericho for Spike. "Here Spike." I tossed him the Jericho and spare clips.

"No thanks I have a gun." he let the gun fall on the couch beside him. Then he took out Faye's Glock. "I think I might shoot better with this gun." His eyes were a graceful garnet color. Faye is the only person that could bring that particular shade of garnet in his eyes. She is the only one that could bring grace to his face in the most desperate times.

"Ok Ed, here." I tossed the Jericho to Ed watching her bobble it in her hands

"Jet, um Ed is not a very good shot." Ed sweat dropped and held the gun in her hands

"Just pretend it's a...virtual game, and shoot them before they shoot you." I explained in the best of terms that I could.

"Yessir!" she saluted and marched down the hall with Ein wagging his tail behind him. I watched till she was gone into another room then turned to Spike.

"Spike are you ok?" I looked at him his eyes were filled with despair again

"I am fine Jet, stop worrying about me."he said as nonchalantly as possible

"I'm worried about Faye, if you are going to be in a little world of depression, that isn't going to help her. All I am asking Spike is that you keep your cool, if you do that we will rescue Faye successfully." I had to get it to him across some how. He needs to get out of his depression so that he could get into mind set of rescuing Faye

  


"I know Jet. You told me that, you know you'd make a pretty good father." I couldn't tell if Spike meant that as a joke or he was serious, since Spike was rarely serious, I took it as a joke

  


"As good as a father as a cook right? Get in the damn cab!" I shouted back, not really angry, just damn irritated

  


"I wonder, Jet, is fate playing some game with us?" Spike asked slowly walking down the corridor

  


"Fate loves playing games Spike, lets hope we win this one." I loaded my gun and walked to the hangar grabbing Ed by the collar along they way.

  


"Ed you listen to me ok, be serious." I said as she grabbed her little remote that she used to pilot ships with

  


"Ok Jet fa-, ok Jet, but you have to listen to Ed also. Ed put homing beacon on Lobster so that we can know when Lobster is in West gate ok!" Ed put on her goggles and hopped into the Swordfish

  


I fell down into the worn seats in the Hammerhead, "Sure Ed. Hey Spike are you ready?" I looked at Spike in the forest green hover-cab.

  


"Jet, I was born ready, lets go." Spike sounded confident, he sounded like his old self. I grinned

  


"Ok kid, lets go." I chuckled

  


"Ok pops." I snarled at him, but it turned into a smirk, damn that kid.

  


I watched as Ein was barking madly as he opened the hangar door with his nose. Ed flew out of the hangar like she had been flying that ship for years. She spiraled across the dead of night. I was the next to go I hit the thrusters to the max as I followed Ed to the Red Dragon Syndicate H.Q. I looked behind me as Spike peeled off towards the left lowly and quietly. He looked funny flying a different ship than the Swordfish, I could almost laugh. 

  


I tensed up as we neared the Red Dragon H.Q. it was an ominous blood red color against the Ebony sky. I readied my harpoon as we neared the Northeast face of the building. I could see Ed was grinning slightly as she armed the machine guns and charged the cannon with her remote. I then had this rush of adrenaline flow through me, I knew I was ready. I smirked. 

  


"C'mon you Syndicate fuckers lets see what you got!" I said lowly as I whipped around to see the Syndicate's Legion pour out of the hangar like blood from a cut. I watched to my surprise as Ed flipped and boosted high in the air as she plowed through the Syndicate legion making a hole in their defenses already. She was a good little pilot, I just hope there are no steel beams anywhere nearby. I swung my harpoon in a 360 degree circle as a crunched the armor of a Syndicate ship smashing into another nearby. Ed fired the canon towards another larger ship making it explode in a fiery inferno as it fell to the ground. We were making some leeway at the legion, in spite of the odds. I couldn't see Spike from here, but I figured he was close to the entrance. I nearly dodged a missile coming straight for me. 

  


"Damn Ed watch out they're now firing missiles." I yelled through the communicator I just turned on.

  


"Its ok, Ed can fix that!" Ed cheerfully grinned

  


"Huh?" I starred blankly as I harpooned another ship and threw it into a wall

  


"Ed can jam the Missiles firing computer, just wait a minute I'm sure it will work." Ed typed on her little remote and her tomato.

  


"How did you get your tomato?" I asked her quickly

  


"I had to bring it or else I couldn't track Spike. " Ed grinned as she fired her canon at another ship, but it narrowly missed 

  


"Just hurry Ed! Hey, is Spike there yet?" I winced as a missile hit my left thruster

  


"Yes, Spike made it a few minutes ago." Ed bit her lip as she hacked into the missile computer

  


"Lets get out of here then!" I yelled as my Hammerhead was beginning to slow down due to the left thruster malfunction. 

  


"We can't we have to stay here or they will get suspicious... there they can't fire missiles anymore!" Ed cheered herself on as she flipped to dodged machine gun fire.

  


"We are going to get killed out here, Ed I have a plan." I began to think up a plan of the top of my now bald head

  


"What is that Jet fa-" Ed looked in the communicator

  


"We are going in the Headquarters, listen, Ed you need to hack into the hangar door mechanism and open it when we fly in." I told her

  


"Um..ok it might take a minute, but I'm sure I'll be able to do it!" Ed whipped out her tomato once more and began to put her hacking skills to the test.

  


"Good." I turned off the communicator momentarily as I rerouted engine power to the main thruster and readied my harpoon again. I watched as I saw three ships come up behind Ed and fire their machine guns. I quickly harpooned one and sent it into the other. The last one though shot Ed's right wing. Smoke began to emit from the wingtip.

  


"Jet um, Ed's ship is smoking! What does Ed do?" Ed sweat dropped

  


"Hang in there, it was only a minor hit, I hope, just keep trying to get the door open." I yelled through the communicator

  


Ed saluted into the communicator as she shot her machine gun at the opposing wall of syndicate drones. The hammerhead's thruster was beginning to overheat and the computer alerted that it was on fire. 

  


"Damn, Ed are you done yet?" I yelled urgently into the Communicator

  


"Err... one minute Jet father- oops I mean Jet, now lets go!" The hangar door opened and I flew in with Ed slightly in front of me. I heard the hangar door close behind us as we landed. I heard machine gun fire against the thick hangar door. Only missiles can penetrate such a thick door, either that is a coincidence or some type of sign. 

  


"Ed where is the nearest elevator?" I asked her

  


"It's down this hallway Jet!" Ed put her tomato on her head as we came to the elevator a few yards away.

  


"Uh oh, the elevator is shut down, and the stairwells are blocked." Ed whipped out her tomato

  


"Can you hack into the system and operate the elevators?" I asked her impatiently

  


"Yes I can, hold on." Ed began typing on her tomato as I looked in the corner of my eyes to see a pair of guards on patrol. They took one look at us, and shot at Ed.

  


"Ed watch out!" I yelled as I shot the guards in the chest. I looked down to Ed fearing the worst.

  


"Jet, they got tomato!" Ed's eyes well up with tears as she pointed to a bullet hole in the middle of tomato's screen. "I can't hack now; we have to resort to Plan B." Ed said sadly

  


"What is plan B?" I asked 

  


"We have to get to Lobster and fly up to the top story!" Ed grinned. I slapped my self in the forehead

  


"Ok Ed lets go, but quickly!" I grabbed Ed's arm and pulled her down the hallway.

  
  
  
  



	6. An act of fate

An act of Fate

 SEQ CHAPTER \h \r 1Faye's POV

            I woke up slowly to hear silence in a large dark room. I am reminded of an aggravated pain from the back of my head as I began to sit up. All of the sudden I remembered what had just happened, Spike got shot. I tried to stand, but large, heavy steel chains around my legs, arms and my torso held me fast to a heavy metal chair. Why couldn't they just put ropes around me? Handcuffs would have been better, but chains? They are digging into my skin leaving red marks. I want to call out to anyone who was listening, but I feel so weak I can't even form words. I managed to tilt my head to see a blurred figure, who looks vaguely familiar. It was Shin, he was at Spike's funeral, the only syndicate member who attended. Something inside my gut told me I can trust him. My natural instinct is to grab my necklace, but I couldn't so I bit my lip. I slowly built enough courage to talk to him.

"Where am I?" I moaned, my head is pounding and my eyes feel heavy, but I have to remain focused. I felt some of my violet hair fall in my face.

            I looked around some to reveal that I was in a large room, a study of some type, with bookcases built into the walls. The milky marble floor reflected the lapis moonlight flawlessly. The floor was clothed with blood red velvet carpeting that flowed from antique heavy wooden double doors to a large mahogany desk at center of the room. To the left of me there was another matching door surrounded by bookcases and a heavy antique table that matched the doors. Lastly, there was behind the desk, in the center of the room, was an enormous Palladian window that had heavy red drapes covering its sides like a long winter cloak. The luxurious room seemed ominous and eerie when overcast with shadow and darkness. Shin was standing in the shadows as if not wanting to be found. I could see that he had something on his mind; it was like a demon that haunted him tirelessly. 

"I'm sorry to say that you are in the Red Dragon Syndicate headquarters." His light murmur pierced the silence like a bullet through water. His dark brown eyes looked down at me with a poorly-hidden sorrow.

"Please, tell me, is Spike ok?" I pleaded I felt my eyes become soft and liquid.

"He's fine; Scythe hit him with one of my tranquilizer bullets. It's yourself you should be worried about." He looked away from me and grabbed something on a table

"Why? What are you going to do to me?" I felt myself get anxious, I wanted to get out of here, fast.

"I don't want to do anything to you, Scythe wants to kill you." He came back with a glass of water and a pill "Here drink this; it will help with your head injury." He put the pill in the water and held it to my lips. I hesitatingly drank it

"Why do you want to help me?" I asked weakly

"Scythe is a disgrace of a man; he should have been killed long ago. He has no right capturing you." he said with a slight burning hatred in his eyes. I could tell he was trained not to show emotion, he doesn't do a very good job.

"What has he done?" I asked curiously

"He goes after people who tried to help Vicious in any way. He was Vicious' commanding officer on Titan, he was nicknamed Sergeant Scorpion. He took in Vicious, trying to be his father, and pretty much taught him to hate people." Shin spilled very quietly 

"Oh..." I said simply

"That isn't the half of it he tried to-" The communicator rang I realized that I no longer had it, but Shin did. He answered it as spoke something into communicator. He hung up quickly.

"Wait! Was that Spike? What did you say to him?" I panicked why didn't he let me talk to Spike?

"Settle down Faye, it will be ok, I just helped out Spike a little; that is all." He spoke with soothing words that seemed to calm me down a little 

"Settle down? I am being held captive by a psychopath and Spike is about to get himself killed again! I don't want to lose him after just having him." I exploded at Lin, I know I shouldn't but that was the only thing I could think of doing besides crying.

            He put his hand on my shoulder, his hand felt warn and comforting, it reminded me of Spike's. "Listen Faye; try not to lose composure that is exactly what Scythe wants you to do, the calmer you are the calmer Spike will be. Try to help Spike by being strong for him."

            His words made perfect sense. I can't break down; I have to stay strong for Spike. He would stay strong for me I know it; I have to help Spike out as much as possible. I want to get out of here I hate it here. Please, Spike come soon. I want to be in your arms again, I want to feel your soft warm lips lock on mine. I want to take in his aroma of cigarettes, vodka and a rain fresh sent. I want to be entranced in your soul-piercing garnet eyes. I want to feel like nothing will ever harm me. I can only feel completely protected when I am in your arms. I feel as if we are the only people in the world and that nothing can reach us when he holds me. Spike please, I need you right now more than ever, I will try to be strong for you but I don't know how long it will last. Spike, I love you, come soon.

 Shin turned quickly and went to the door. A few seconds after doing so the large double doors door swung open violently and Scythe came barging in

"Well, well, well, what do we have here, you're awake my little pretty." He put his cold fingers under my chin and his slate blue eyes flashed.

"Let me go!" I pulled away from his fingers sharply and glared as menacingly as I could into his eyes.

"I wouldn't have to have hurt you if you had joined me at the casino." He grinned maliciously

"Let me go now!" I yelled at him this time glaring maliciously into his eyes. I felt my eyes burn.

            He reached to backhand me across the face when he suddenly regained composure. "Don't you worry pretty, you will have a one way ticket to hell soon enough." He frowned and ran his fingers through my hair. I saw Shin flinch the tiniest bit.

"Get away from me you creepy son of a bitch!" I yelled at him yanking my head from his dead fingers.

"Why you little-" he reared up his hand to hit me when it was caught by Shin

"Don't hit her Scythe, not yet, remember I want my revenge too." I saw him look in Scythe's darkly

"You are messing with me Shin, I wouldn't do that if I were you." He smirked and put down his hand "I remember the last person who messed with me was a man named Gren. He isn't even alive to tell the sad little tale." 

"You... what did you do to Gren?" I muttered lowly through clinched teeth.

"That fool tried to make Vicious soft. So, I had to kill him." he admitted proudly

"The scorpion, you tried to kill Gren with the scorpion." I yelled slightly shrilly 

"Yes, and when Vicious saved him, they both paid dearly. Vicious had to be taught a lesson, and so did Gren." he smiled evilly, I watched out of the corner of my eye Shin looked outside the window for a second.

"What lesson did they have to learn?" My mouth gaped at the thought of how evil this man really was

"Vicious had to learn that friends don't help, they only hurt you. Gren had to learn to stop being so damn compassionate-" I cut him off

"You imprisoned Gren, and made it look like Vicious did. I bet you put him on the Red Eye that made him change! You sick bastard, I bet it was even you who put the homing beacon in the damn music box!" I yelled at him, the whole story made me sick to my stomach, I felt a tear slide down my cheek. 

            Poor Gren, he didn't deserve that, he was one of the kindest men I've ever known. He was one of the only men I have ever confided in. He was certainly one of the most honorable men I have ever known, and I wasn't even there with him when he died. I wanted to hold Gren's hand as his star fell. He and Vicious were friends. Vicious saved him from the scorpion, even though he knew Scythe was trying to kill him. That is the only thing I can thank Vicious of. I miss you Gren! I wish I could have thanked him for being there for me even though I was…a faerie. I wish I could have known him as he knew me. I wish I could just turn back time, and have him never imprisoned. If I did that, I would have never met him, but he could lead a normal life at least. It's not fair, why did that have to happen to Gren? I don't understand why such honorable people had to die for such an unjust cause. I wish Gren were alive, and Lin too, but they are dead. They were just collateral damage. I hate Sycthe, why did he have to do those things? Why couldn't he just leave Gren and Lin and everyone else be?

"My, we are perceptive aren't we?" He calmly took out a knife from his pocket and waved it in the air

"Why would you do such a thing?" I asked him angrily

"You mean something like this." I lost my breath as he took a dagger from his coat, and slid its sharp blade across my arm creating a long slice. I watched helplessly as blood thickly seeped from the wound. He returned the knife to his pocket after wiping the blood on my shirt. Shin's eyes widened the tiniest bit as he cut my arm from shoulder to elbow in a long deep gash. I winced as I saw a man rush in from the hallway.

"Sir the guests have arrived, a red Swordfish and a brown Hammerhead. They are attacking the eastern side as we speak sir." The short fat bald man reported

"Oh have they? Just in case they come in, disengage all elevators and block all stair wells." Scythe hissed back

"Sir, I think you need to come see this, the missiles on our fighters are being disabled." He reported with more urgency

"Fine I will see to what is happening." Scythe hissed with a slight exasperated tone. He walked from the room with a malevolent aura. 

"Sorry to leave so quickly, you know what to do Shin... have fun. I'll be back when the guests arrive." His slate blue eyes flashed.

            I bit my lip trying to ignore the searing pain down my arm. I had to be strong, all my life I had to be strong. All those times though seemed easy compared to this. It's taking all of my strength not to break down. All my life I have had to be self-reliant and now when I have to depend on something I don't know what to do. I know I can depend on you, Spike. You are the strongest person I know. Spike, please help me soon, I'm stuck with a dagger wielding psychopath. I love you Spike please come soon. I was about to cry when I felt something go over my deep wound.

"You pissed him off, he could have done a lot worse. He wants to wait until Spike comes to really hurt you." He spoke pityingly as he rubbed a wet cloth up and down my blood covered skin.

"I am not used to acting nice to people I hate." I smiled weakly "He wants to teach Spike one of his 'lessons' doesn't he?" I asked, slightly weakly, mostly concerned.  

"Yes, he believes that it was all Spike's fault that Julia died and gave Vicious such grief. He doesn't realize that it was all of their fault, Julia's, Spike's and Vicious' that it happened out that way." He put away the blood soaked cloth and rolled up his sleeves and balled his hands into fists. "Call it an act of Fate."

"What are you doing?" I asked uneasily, was I wrong to trust him?

"Are you a good actress?" he asked with a grin on his face

"You have no idea." I looked at him with a slight grin on my face

"Good, you have to pretend that I am punching you, try to make it as believable as possible." He frowned while his eyes grinned slightly.

"Got it." I said simply

                        He then punched into an old book next to me as I matched the blows with groans and yelps. It is actually pretty funny as I think about it. All this time I think how a person like Shin, so kind, got waist-deep in the Red Dragons, it didn't make sense. How could Shin, such an outgoing, pure soul get entangled in one of the most malicious groups in the Solar System? I wish I were smarter so that I could figure out things like this. Intelligence was never a strong point of mine. Common sense yes, but smartness, guess again. If I were smart I would have shot that balding guy before he hit me. I could have avoided all of this if I were just smarter and stronger. I can't wallow down in depression though, I have to be strong for Spike, I have to help him as much as possible. I was awaken from my train of thought to hear sirens go off. Shin looked about the dark room for a minute and then went off quickly into another room. I didn't want to be left alone, Shin right now is the only person capable at this moment of protecting me. 

"What's happening?" I called quietly into the dark. I waited for a moment for him to answer; right when I thought he was gone for good he came back.

"Your friends have arrived, they are smart, I think they fooled Scythe." He chuckled "But not me." 

"What do you mean?" I asked confused

"Well, Spike is in an old hover-cab while another person is flying the Swordfish." He explained then he turned quickly on his heel to see the balding man holding a gun smirking.

"Why thank you Shin you treacherous snake, you have just revealed to me where Spike is. Now its time for you to pay the price." He smirked devilishly while his beady red eyes glowed. He clicked the safety on his gun and pointed to his head only a few yards away. "Do you really think that little play could have fooled me? Well Shin looks as if you will be joining your brother now." He sneered

I gasped quickly, what is Shin going to do? If he shoots that guy then his cover will be blown and Scythe will kill him for sure. I had to think of something fast,

"That isn't Spike. Spike would never leave his ship to another person, he'd rather die." I blurted out

"Do you really think I am going to believe that story? Ha, your just trying to cover for him." He smirked with his attention towards me

"Go and look at the monitor fat ass! It isn't Spike!" I yelled, I knew I wasn't going to fool him but I though if I could be a loud enough distraction, Shin would be able to do something.

"You little slut! How dare you address me as that?" His eyes sharpened into razor blades and he turned his gun towards me. I flinched a little as he did so. 

"Aww, is baby going to cry?" I cooed sarcastically, putting on my façade of toughness I have used tirelessly.

            "That's It! I don't care!" He aimed the gun and two bullets shot through the dark room. I felt the overwhelming pound of a bullet against my chest, when I realized that the bullet ricocheted off of the heavy chain and went into the wall. I am glad now that the chained me instead of just putting rope around me. I uneasily looked at the man who was now crumpled in a small heap on the blood velvet carpet. I felt my hair flip as I turned to look at Lin holding a smoking gun. That gun was familiar, that smoking gun was none other than Spike's old Jericho. I felt myself smile inside to think that Shin kept it, and not some police officer. He almost looked like Spike holding the gun like that and shooting a person; I could tell that Spike made a strong impact on his life. Spike, I think, was a mentor to him, although Shin's life is a mystery to me. I wonder if he is meaning to look Spike, and be like Spike for a reason. Spike and Shin are a lot alike, they both have good hearts, they both have Syndicate entangled pasts and they both hated Vicious. I wonder how things would have turned out if Vicious was never born.

"Shin..." I gasped

"Yes?" he answered putting the Jericho back in his breast pocket.

"What will you do now? Scythe now knows that you-" I was cut off 

"He would have figured out sooner or later, and I wasn't going to stand there and let him just kill you now would I?" He frowned, his eyes grew sad and dark "I am going to die anyway." He looked out the window to see pitch black abyss

"We are all going to die someday..." I sighed

"Yes, well, who would have thought that today would be it for me?" He said that as a statement 

"You aren't going to die Shin, No one has died holding that gun that you have now." I looked at him trying to get a response from him

"Yes, no one has, have they?" he chuckled quickly. Then he turned and watched in horror as the double doors were swung open to reveal a snarling Scythe seething. 

            "I thought I could trust you well it looks like I am wrong." Scythe sneered as he pulled the trigger on his gun. I watched the entire scene in slow motion, the bullet hit Shin in the right portion of the chest has he was propelled backwards through the Palladian window. The glass shattered as Lin fell through it; I immediately remembered a similar scene when Spike fell through the Cathedral window. 

            "Shin no!" I screamed through the rippled silence. I saw the expression on Shin's face, it was a sorrowful peaceful expression as his body fell among the shards of crystallized pain. He looked at me, I don't know how long, but he looked at me with dark brown eyes filled with blank emotion. I felt a tear rush down my tired cheek as he fell from the perilous height. I saw out of the corner of my eye him pull out the Jericho and quickly drop it onto the floor before he fell. This can't be happening, Shin can't die, it should be Scythe falling through that window.  Dammit! Why do all the nice people have to die? Shin, Gren, how many more? If Spike dies... no I can't allow myself to think that; he won't die. Shin, I am so sorry this has happened.

            "Now that your little friend has finally left the building, its now time for more important matters." He sneered and ran up to me and held the barrel of the gun pressed against my forehead. He was about to pull the trigger when a spray of bullets streamed through the double doors and Spike stepped through the smoking doorway. 

            "Spike you're here!" I felt my eyes become soft as they welled up with tears over my smiling ruby lips. I feel so happy I wish I could just fly into his arms, out of harms way. I wanted this all to go away and just to kiss him over and over on his expertly chiseled face and neck. I wanted to curl up with his body up against mine under a mountain of covers. I wanted to prove my love to him, I want to make sure he feels the love I feel for him. I will do anything to make sure that he knows I love him with every ounce of blood in my body. I want to make sure when we are making love that…ooh I'm getting dirty aren't I? Well I better clear these thoughts and focus.

"Faye hang on we are going to get out of here soon." He looked at me with poorly masked distress and concern. "Scythe, prepare to die you heartless bastard." He held up my gun as frowned his eyes clouded with a pure red hatred

"How did you get here so fast? Well, I guess that just opens up time in my busy schedule." Scythe grinned as he pulled out his gun with one hand and his dagger with another. His gun was aimed to Spike as his knife was held against my throat. I saw Spike's eyes widen as he frowned and spat lowly.

            "Scythe I don't care why you like Vicious or why you want to kill Faye, you're as good as dead." Spike maliciously cursed. I have to admit it was scary to see Spike act like this, his eyes filled with boiling hatred. I was a bit frightened by this sudden rush of intense hatred, I think Spike looked into my eyes and saw that. His expression softened some, but the glint in his eyes was about the same. I prayed that Spike would make it.

"I am not here to die at the lowly hands of you Spike. You took Julia from Vicious so I will take Faye from you. Turnabout is fair play." He sneered "Did you see what I did to the fully trained Shin? He is now a mere splatter on the cement like you will be."

"First of all, I didn't take Julia from Vicious, she chose me. It was all Julia's choice, and she chose me. Second of all, Shin was my friend and you will pay in full for what you did to him." Spike smirked as he raised my gun to Scythe's head.

There was nothing I could do but sit there and stare at the two stare each other down. I was scared, I hoped that Spike would be ok, but Scythe was a psycho and I didn't know what he could be capable of. 

"Spike be careful, I love you." I yelled to him not caring what Scythe would do. I had to tell him if, in fact, I was going to die.  I wanted to make sure he knew.

I saw the hatred in his eyes wash away immediately. He looked upon me with the eyes of an angel as he told me five words. "I'll love you forever Faye." He turned back from me to Scythe and his eyes turned slightly sharp.

            I felt my heart melt away. I felt as if every care in the world had suddenly dissipated and left the room entirely. I have waited forever for him to say he loved me. Even though he said it before, I could tell that he meant it. I am not saying that he didn't mean it before, I just know that he meant it when his two toned eyes met mine that it would all be alright.

"Aww, the love birds are singing their last song how cute?" He smirked "I heard Shin tell you the story of how I met Vicious and Gren, and how I got my nickname." He grinned and turned to me tilting the blade of the dagger so that I could see my reflection in the cold steel. 

            "I am the scorpion, just like Vicious was the snake. Different bodies, same poison." He looked at my arm then straight into my eyes. "The tail of the scorpion secrets a poison to kill its prey with; my dagger has the same qualities. Vicious poisoned the Syndicate, I poisoned you. Faye you only have eight hours tops to live." He smirks and plays with his dagger, but keeps his gun on Spike.

"What have you done?" Spike roars at Scythe with blood red eyes

            "He…he cut me Spike…I'm poisoned. I am going to die." I yell to him with my eyes filling up with held back tears. I saw him look at my arm in horror his jaw dropped an inch. I couldn't believe it myself, I was dying. I didn't feel like anything was happening at all. I think the poison is slow moving, to make my suffering as deep and as painful as possible. Spike I don't want to die; I want to be with you forever. I want you to be my husband, I want to spend every waking and sleeping moment by your side.

"Faye you will be ok you hear me? You will be fine I will make sure of it. Scythe I'll get you for this I swear it I will get you!" Spike charged at Scythe with the Glock shooting three of his unshed steel tears at Scythe's wretched figure.

            "Spike you are a fool you know that? I don't care if I die here or not, I have done what I have set out to do. Killing you would be icing on the cake as well as living through this pathetic ordeal." He shot back at Spike missing his target by inches. Spike retaliated with three more bullets, one which hit Scythe in the arm making him drop his tainted dagger. 

"Scythe you are the vilest person I have ever encountered. You are more vile than Vicious himself!" Spike dove to the right and tried to shoot again, but he was out of bullets. Scythe saw his chance to strike and shot Spike in the leg and right shoulder. He smirked as he shot Spike again in the stomach. 

"Spike no!" I shrieked madly trying to free myself from the chains. Tears began to pour down my hot cheeks as warm blood poured out of Spike's wounds. I felt the chains dig deeper into my skin as I struggled futilely to get free. I nearly gasped as I felt the poison slowly take effect. My vision was slowly blurring and my stomach was gradually tying up in knots. Then I saw it, the Jericho lying behind Spike. Thank you Shin.

            "Spike the Jericho behind you!" my voice cracked as I began to feel dizzy. I saw Spike see it and made a mad dash to retrieve it.  Scythe hissed and sprung after Spike like a pouncing lion. Spike whipped around like flowing water as he shot Scythe in the chest. Scythe stumbled backwards awkwardly and put his cold hand to his fatal wound. It would have pierced his heart if he had one. I felt my eyelids flutter closed as the poison made them heavy.

"Vicious once told me that you say life is only a dream Spike… your right." I heard Scythe gasp his last breath. I smiled as Scythe fell backwards through the glassless window.  I opened my eyes briefly as Spike looked down to Scythe and said

            "I woke up a long time ago Scythe." Spike spitted out the window, and then rushed towards me fearfully. "Faye speak to me, are you ok?" His eyes filled with an overwhelming worry. He unwrapped me from my chains, and cradled me in his arms. I was beginning to feel weak from the poison on the blade. I lifted my eyelids to look at his loving eyes. I felt myself break into a cold sweat and I began to shiver. I felt him run his long fingers along my cheeks wiping away my tears. I looked into his eyes to see the one expression I thought I would never see, fear. I wanted that expression never to return, it made pain fill his garnet eyes.

"Spike…are you ok?" he was the only thing I could think of at this moment. Spike was my life, I'm worried about his injuries, no matter what the extent of mine. I love Spike Speigel no matter what happens to him or me, I always will.

            "I'll be fine Faye, once I get you to a hospital. Faye don't worry you will be fine." He lifted me up gently and kissed me on my lips. I tasted his sweet lips and felt his tongue flow gracefully in and out of my mouth quickly. I took in his characteristic aroma and felt his smooth skin massage my tear wet cheeks. I opened my eyes as he broke the kiss. I felt so relieved to be in his arms, even though I may be dying, I never felt safer. I smiled at him as I felt my eyes soften and become liquid. I grabbed my necklace and yanked it from my neck and handed it to Spike. 

"In case…I don't make it, I want you to have it… Remember I love you." I meekly whispered from his arms.

"You'll make it Faye don't you worry everything will be alright." He reassured me as he kissed me on the lips once more. I was about to close my eyes when I saw the Lobster fly to the window.

"Spike…look" I weakly spurted out as I saw Jet, Ed and Shin stick their heads out from the overcrowded ship. I saw him turn his head and saw relief wash over his face. He spun around to walk forward when he winced and nearly fell. He seethed at his gunshot wounds but still managed to hold me; he is truly strong.

"Spike hold on, we're coming!" Jet and Lin jumped off the ship. Shin had his shoulder bandaged up sloppily, as they ran to Spike and me.

            "Faye, she needs to get to a hospital, she is poisoned. Take her first Jet, you can only fit three in the ship." Spike grimaced as Shin lifted him up and wrapped Spike's arm around his shoulders. Jet took me from Spike's arms and lifted me sturdily into the small lobster. I felt so sleepy, I felt like I was losing consciousness. I tilted my head backwards and as strongly as I could opened my mouth and said "I love you Space Cowboy…" The words that escaped my mouth was barely above a whisper, but Spike heard. 

"I love you, stay strong." Spike called back to me from the now lightened room. I smiled weakly as I heard those words. I closed my eyes and let my body fall limp in Jet's firm arms. I still had consciousness, but I could only make myself concentrate on Jet's voice. 

"Ed go to the nearest hospital, and step on it." I heard Jet urgently tell Ed. I heard Ed answer back but it was all mumbling to me.

"I don't know if Faye will make it Ed. I sure hope so." Jet propped my head higher. I felt the ship fly quickly, but a little shakily in the soon fading night. After what seemed like hours, we stopped. I assume it was the hospital because Jet got out of the ship. I felt him turn with him still holding me.

"Go back and pick up Shin and Spike, they are hurt and need to come to the hospital also." Jet yelled as he sprinted into the building. The sudden change of lighting startled me. My eyes, even closed, were much more sensitive to light now that the poison had started its effect on me.

"Quick someone help this woman is dying over here! She is poisoned some doctor better get his ass over here now!" Jet's booming voice soon quieted the noises in the hospital. I heard faint murmurs and voices talk to Jet quickly. 

"Her name is Faye…Speigel." I smiled when Jet said that, I thought that name had a pretty good ring to it. I hope I survive this so I can legally have that name. Before I knew it I was being lifted onto a stretcher. I felt them touch me over my body to see where I was hurt. This scared me, it wouldn't normally but the poison effected even my typical emotions and train of thought. I didn't want to be alone, I wanted someone to be with me.

"Don't…leave…me…" I hoarsely whispered to Jet. 

"Don't worry Faye I'm not going anywhere." Jet's smooth deep voice calmed me. I smiled and then quickly lost all consciousness.


	7. A diamond in the rough

A diamond in the rough

Spikes POV

  
  


I watched worriedly as the Lobster sped away from the blown open window. Faye looked pale in the last few minutes that I spent with her. Her eyes seemed to lack that certain emerald luster that captivated me from the start. She seemed so weak and tired; I hope that doesn't mean much. I wish I could take it all back, just turn back time. It didn't work that way though, life made it so that you have to live with the choices you make. I would do anything to see Faye live through all of this; even if it meant rounding up every woolong in the universe; I'd do it without a second guess.

I looked at her necklace I still held in my clamped shut fist. The diamond radiated a small sparkling prism of light when held up to the sun. Diamonds are beautiful, rare, exquisite, strong and one of a kind. They remind me of Faye.

  


I didn't know what to expect, Scythe said she would last more than eight hours, but he doesn't know how strong Faye is. Faye on the outside doesn't seem like she could handle much, but deep down, I know, she could fight with the best of them. She was a survivor, pure and simple. She survived the gate accident; she survived every bounty she ever went on. She even mentally and emotionally triumphed over not even remembering her past. If every girl were as strong as she, then certainly men all over would cower in fear.

  


I almost laughed thinking of a galaxy of Faye Valentines, god that would be both wonderful and scary at the same time. I put the necklace in my pocket, unnoticed.

  
  


I tried to look like my wounds were nothing to me as I leaned up against Shin. He stood defiantly against the uncertain future; I was attempting to do the same. Shin has become strong, not just physically, but mentally and emotionally too. I thought of how he is probably trying to be like his brother, Lin. Lin was one of the very few people in the Syndicate I could label, a friend. I tried to free myself from Shin's helping hand and stand freely, but I soon realized that my injuries are more fatal than I probably first thought they were. 

  


"Spike, don't worry." He said with slight wisps of worry lacing his strong voice

  


"That poison, do you think they will have a cure?" I asked him hiding my nervousness

  


"I don't know, perhaps, the scorpion is a very old creature." Shin looked into my eyes filling them with empty hope

  


"Scorpion venom…I hope they have a cure, but there is a funny feeling in my stomach that they don't." I straightened my legs up to a standing position as Shin propped me up further.

  
  


"That feeling is the bullet stuck in your gut." He chuckled sadly pointing to my hard to miss blood drenched coat. 

  


"Don't worry about me; I have been shot up worse." I admitted proudly 

  


"I know you have been shot up worse, but have you _been_ through worse?" he asked gravely

  


I raised my head to look at the imminent sunrise. The sky was turning a scarlet-saffron color that seemed to illuminate the surrounding buildings in a fiery light. The indigo clouds poured in their own lapis glow into the holy crimson sky. The crystalline cerulean water glistened quietly as they humbly reflected sisters' sky saffron fire. I never paid that much attention to sunrises before, maybe I should more often. Sunrises represent not only a dawning of a new day, but a renaissance of people everywhere.

  


"I don't think so… I won't let Faye die Shin, I can't. No matter what the cost I will make sure she will live." I gritted my teeth, how dare Scythe try to take Faye from me!

  


"She'll make it, she's strong Spike." Shin smiled faintly

  


"Hey, how did you survive a fall from that window?" I asked trying to change the subject; I needed to think of something else besides Faye or I think my heart will explode

  


"Believe it or not, the Lobster was going up as I was falling down. I fell on it and they landed, and quickly bandaged me up. We were coming back up when we saw Scythe plummet and hit the pavement." Shin laughed 

  


"I bet that's never happened to you before." Shin smirked as if he had the upper hand

  


"Actually I saved a bounty head that way once, but he died after I rescued him." I grinned ironically

  


"Sure Spike…" He smirked as he squinted to see if the hammerhead was coming.

  


"Shin, who is next in line to rule the Syndicate?" I asked curiously

  


"Well that fat man that is decaying over there was…I suppose, it's me, now that I think about it. Although I am not sure." He bit his lip as if he was thinking hard "The syndicate changed Spike; It changed when Vicious took over, and it changed even more when Scythe took over." He admitted 

  


"How so?" I asked "What could Scythe do to change it so badly?"

  


"He split the Syndicate. The two factions, the Radicals, they favored Vicious' way of ruling, and the more conservative, old school, if you will. I fear that if the Syndicate does split, it will unleash mayhem that would lead in countless casualties and annihilation." He looked down at the building. "The reason why you weren't caught in those two years, wasn't because of you evaded us; it was because half of us didn't want you to be found."

  


"I see, so the radicals wanted me dead and the conservatives wanted to move on?" I asked. I am really confused, how could things get so out of control?

  


"It's not that simple, the Radicals want the Red Dragons to reign supreme. They thought you dishonored the Red Dragon name and caused them to loose their grip on the other Syndicates; that is why they wanted you dead. The Conservatives want the Red dragons to uphold the honor and integrity it once held. They want to feel like they are doing the right thing. The last time most can remember they felt like they were the 'good guys' was when you were still in the Syndicate. They still hang on the hope that they will be what they once were." Shin spilled out as if I was the student and he was the teacher.

  


"Wow I didn't know I made such an impact on the Syndicate." I pondered

  


"You don't seem to realize the impact you make on anything or anyone…" Shin said bluntly

  


"Are you going to stick by the Syndicate?" I asked

  


"I don't want to see the Syndicate fall Spike; The Red Dragons aren't evil, they just got corrupted as new, horrible leaders rose to power." Shin had a certain spark in his eye when he spoke of the Syndicate. "The Syndicate, whether I want it to be, or not, is my home. I will help it flourish no matter how corrupt it may be now." Shin insighted 

  


"Nothing good comes of the Syndicate Shin..."

  


"That's why I am going to change that. I am going to rebuild the Syndicate, I am going to cleanse it of its conceit and its corrupt people and standards. I am going to model the Syndicate after how I wish it could be. I am doing this for Lin, he would love that more than anything."You know, when Vicious was the head of the Syndicate, he overseen by Scythe. Scythe was the real head of the Syndicate. Whatever Scythe instructed, he would do, Vicious was Scythe's 'dirty work guy'. I didn't know about that until Lin died, Vicious came to me and wanted my help in tracking you down. I asked him 'why not do it yourself?' He responded, 'Even Scorpions and snakes need help.' Vicious, I think, was stuck in Scythe's evil vortex of hate and he couldn't escape.

  


"I see…" I murmured gently as the Hammerhead came into view. Thank god, I felt like I was in a confession booth and Shin was the priest. I also would like someone to take the bullets from my body so I can walk without regretting it.

  


"Spike and Shin quickly coooooooome!" Ed called urgently. Shin helped me to the hover cab as we sped quickly around to the hospital

  


"Ed is Jet with Faye?" I asked 

  


"Yes, Jet father is with Faye." Ed smiled as she turned violently to miss a building

  


"Why do you call him Jet father?" Shin asked

  


"'Cause I don't have a father, and he is the closest thing to one." Ed grinned as she slammed on the brakes and did a u-turn

  


"God Ed what is with your driving?" I asked her "You were fine with the Swordfish." I rubbed my head where I bumped it on the steel

  


"Ed is very worried that is all." Ed landed at the hospital as Shin half-carried me to the door

  


"Help we have a gunshot victim here!" He yelled across the lobby. Three doctors came and put me on a stretcher and began to wheel me to the north wing of the building.

  


"What is his name, son?" I heard a doctor ask Shin

  


"His name is confidential business of the Red Dragon Syndicate." He told the doctor with a certain superior edge as the doctor quietly nodded 

  


"Well is there anything we need to know, allergies and that type." The doctor quivered

  


"Nothing, accept I will be taking care of his hospital bill, and there will be a little extra if you do it promptly." Shin smirked as he made his brown eyes flash intimidating 

  


Good old Shin, he's smart, he still knows I am 'dead'. I reluctantly let them put a breathing mask over my mouth as I inhaled the anesthetic. I fell into a restless deep sleep that seemed to last eons. I awoke to find myself in a hospital bed looking out into the midday sun. I quickly took the IVs out of my body and quietly ran to the door. I had to find Faye, I had to be with her; I had to make sure she was alright. I found my newly washed clothes and put them on. I found the necklace in the same packet that I put it in. I found myself in the main hallway of the North Wing. I peered into the lobby and saw Shin there. 

  


"Shin, where is Faye?" I asked him in a hoarse whisper knowing full well that if I were caught they would send me back to my room.

  


"She is in the West wing, look for Jet first though." He told me reluctantly.

  


"How is she? Is she ok?" I asked anxiously

  


"She is alive, the doctors are running the last test on her now; the results should be imminent." Shin tried to smile but his eyes couldn't.

  


"Is there an antidote for the poison?" I asked lowly

  


"I am not sure; they are still trying to figure it out. The doctors are getting suspicious about your identity. You make sure you stay away from them as much as possible, and whatever you do make sure no one speaks your name." He cautioned me as he looked to the receptionist at the desk taking phone calls.

  


"I will be with you as soon as I clear your bill." Shin got up and went to the receptionist.

  


"Thanks Shin." I told him simply as I ran from the main lobby quietly. I soon found myself in the mouth of the West wing. I began to hunt for Jet and Ed as I wandered around the West lobby. I saw Jet's bald head and Ed's puff of pink-red hair sticking from an uncomfortable couch. I snuck up behind Jet and put my hand over his mouth

  


"Ssshhhh Jet it's me, don't say my name." I hissed quickly and let go looking at Ed sleeping soundly.

  


"Hey, I think that is the quickest recovery I have seen. Your injuries were supposed to be life threatening, but I see you put them to shame pretty quickly." He chuckled

  


"Yeah, speaking of life-threatening… how is she?" I asked him

  


"She is alive, but no one knows for how long. The poison has contaminated almost her entire bloodstream. They are running the last test to see if in fact, there is a cure." Jet poured out a report 

  


"What if there isn't a cure?" I asked him hesitatingly 

  


"I don't want to think about it." Jet looked down

  


"Can I see her?" I asked him sadly

  


"They are running tests, not right now." Jet gritted his teeth

  


"Ok-" I was cut off by a doctor walking briskly in from the hallway. I instinctively ducked behind the couch as he approached Jet.

  


"Mr. Black" he addressed 

  


"Call me Jet, now what is it?" he asked neither sadly nor hopefully

  


"Jet, the results of the tests are in. I'm sorry, unfortunately there is no cure for the particular toxin she has." He reported gravely, his. My jaw dropped, I wanted to scream till I couldn't scream anymore.

  


"What can we do?" Jet demanded

  


"The only option at this point is a full-body blood transplant, but there is a problem." The stressed doctor ran his fingers through his thinning gray hair.

  


"What could possibly be the fucking problem?" Jet shouted

  


"Her blood type is very rare, A negative to be exact. That blood type is not easily found, especially in the quantity we need. I am sorry there is nothing we can do now." The doctor bit his lip. Jet sat back as his jaw dropped and he put his head in his hands.

  


I stood up from my hiding place "Do not tell me there is nothing you can do, find a damn donor!" I yelled angrily, how dare they tell me that there isn't anything they can do!

  


"There are no donors! No donors have the blood she needs, now who are you?" He doctor asked

  


"Cant you use my blood?" I asked desperately

  


"No, even if you did have A negative blood, you have to be a donor!" the doctor yelled back exasperated. 

  


"Listen, you don't have that blood type, neither do I or else I'd be doing something." Jet explained

  


I felt as if my heart had shattered into a billion pieces. The one thing I feared for so long; is here. Faye is going to die and it's all my fault. I let her down, I let Jet and Ed down. My life has no meaning. I have failed to do the one thing I set out to do; protect Faye. I wanted nothing more than to have her smiling face with her glistening emerald eyes look at me and tell me she was ok. 

  


"Jet, this is all my fault." I slumped looked down at the floor

  


"Sp- don't say that, you did everything you could to save her, we all did." Jet's voice sounded comforting, but little could comfort me now.

  


"Jet, if I hadn't been so blind, she'd still be here." I yelled at him angrily

  


"You act as if she is dead… she isn't! Go and see her for yourself." Jet snapped

  


"Tell me where she is…" I sighed defeated

  


"Visiting hours are open, her room is A34" The doctor said quickly as he was surprised by Shin sprinting into the lobby

  


"How is she?" He panted running into the west wing lobby he quickly studied the faces that he saw

  


"She needs a blood transplant, but there are no donors…" I spat out. I couldn't even fathom losing Faye, but she was dying and there is nothing I can do. 

  


"There are no donors?" Shin asked in disbelief

  


"Her blood type is rare, A negative, there are no donors with that blood type." Jet told Shin quickly. I looked up to see that Shins eyes were wide with disbelief

  


"Shin, are you ok?" I asked him uneasily

  


"I…I have that blood type…let me give her my blood." Shin told the doctor

  


"How on earth could you possibly have that blood type?" I asked in astonishment

  


"It runs in our family, my brother Lin had it also. He would be alive today if it wasn't for his stupid rare blood type. He could have had a blood transplant. I myself, would have given him my blood, but the doctors said I was too young at the time to give blood." His face darkened 

  


"Please, let me save Faye. Give her my blood; I need to do it for Faye, and my brother." 

  


"I can't just take blood from you, it's not that easy." The doctor sighed "You have to be a donor, it's the new hospital policy. People will come in and sue us if we don't make sure they are a registered donor." Shin looked at him sharply his eyes were of those of a Syndicate leader, fearless, stern and determined. 

  


"That man over there is about to lose the woman he loves, why would you pass up this opportunity to save her?" Shin glared unbelievably at the doctor

  


"I can't, she needs a full body transplant; you will die in the process more than likely." The doctor frowned "My hands are tied."

  


"Like fuck they are." Shin grabbed him by the collar "If you don't give her my blood fast I will send the Red Dragon Syndicate after everyone you love. Would you put your family at risk over a frivolous rule?" Shin's brown eyes flashed as he put down the doctor.

  


"Ok…ok I understand, I…I agree, I just need you to type in this computer some information…" He went to the computer and told Shin to type in some information. Forms and paperwork became obsolete and slow in the hospitals. They switched over to a much faster way after the gate incident.

  


"Shin, I can't thank you enough for what you are doing…" I stood in astonishment that he will save Faye

  


"Just don't make any more stupid decisions ok?" Shin grinned as the doctor took him to a room to prep him for the operation.

  


"Don't worry Shin, I am sure that I won't any more." I smiled as I began to walk to Faye's room. 

  


I soon found the room; it didn't take that long, it was only around a corner. I peered in the darkened room, in spite of it being almost noon. Faye was lying limply on the hospital bed, unconscious. IVs and an oxygen mask covered her making sure she would stay alive. I walked over to her as I saw that she had barely a heart beat. Her life line was almost straight. 

  


"Faye don't you worry everything will be alright." I spoke to her softly even though I knew she couldn't hear me. I held her hand, bony and frail from the poison. Her once soft skin, now felt paper thin and looked almost transparent. Her violet hair was disheveled and matted to her forehead with sweat. She looked so fragile, like a glass doll. Her hand felt almost cold as I held it gently, but firmly. I took my finger and ran it softly around her visible facial features. 

  


I still didn't know if this operation would work or not, but I had to believe it would. Somehow, I feel like if I believe it will happen, it will actually happen. I still couldn't believe out of all the blood types, and all the people; Shin would have the same blood type as Faye. I still can't believe it; I used to think 'whatever happens, happens' but now I am beginning to believe that fate must play some role in this life of mine.

  


"Sorry to interrupt…" Jet bit his lip, as he leaned up against the door frame 

  


"Jet it's fine, really, she is doing to be ok now." I grinned as I stood up from the floor

  


"Ed wants to see Faye!" Ed tried to push through Jet but he grabbed her leg as she attempted to come in. Ed started to growl and bit Jet on his mechanical arm, in which she recoiled in pain. "Ed's mouth hurts."

  


"Jet I said its FINE, she can come in." I raised an eyebrow at the struggling redheaded creature. Jet let go and Ed stuck out her tongue and went to Faye's bed.

  


"Faye is going to be fine Ed knows!" Ed smiled largely

  


"Oh, and how are you so sure?" I asked with a teasing edge

  


"Ed knows about hospital stuff, transplants, and tumors and…stuff. Ed is S-M-A-R-T!" Ed smiled even larger if that is even possible

  


"Yes Ed…" I rolled my eyes

  


"Ed, could you possibly keep it down?" Jet asked exasperated 

  


"I will be quiet as a foxy woxy, but I need to tell you something!" Ed somersaulted from the bed to Jet. What in the hell is a foxy?

  


"What could it possibly be?" Jet asked raising an eyebrow 

  


"Shin might nooooooooot liiiiiiiiiiiiive!" Ed said melodramatically as she fell over and played dead.

  


"Huh Shin?" I asked to Jet It never really occurred to me that Shin might not make it

  


"I donno, it would make sense, I mean if he gives Faye his blood, then he wouldn't have any." Jet crossed his arms and kicked at the motionless Ed lying flat on the hospital floor.

  


"Call me stupid, but that never crossed my mind. I guess I was preoccupied…" I glanced over at Faye quickly

  


"Excuse me sirs… and ma'am" he looked at Ed on the floor "We need to take Mrs. Speigel to the ER for the operation." A different doctor with a clipboard and two other nurses behind him with a…damn…one of those beds with wheels…. only its portable…god Spike you can't even think straight!

  


"Mrs. Speigel, I like the sound of that." I grinned to Jet as he picked up Ed from the floor with one hand on the back of her shirt

  


"Well, that _is_ her name after all…" I soon got what Jet was talking about, if the hospital staff knew she was Faye Valentine with all the debts; they'd kick her out.

  


"Wait Faye's name is Va-" Jet clamped his mechanical hand over Ed's mouth

  


"He he he…Kids…" Jet sweatdropped

  


"Yes..of course…" The doctor and his nurses moved around Jet and I as they carefully put Faye on the ….whatever you call it…rolly bed and wheeled her down the hallway to the ER.

  


"You three can wait in the waiting room, it will only be a few hours." The nurse smiled politely as she took Faye's IV stand with her.

  


"Yeah some of the longest hours of my life..." I snorted at the seemingly naive nurse

  


"Don't worry Spike, Faye will be alright!" Ed shouted before I could clamp my hand over her mouth. The doctor turned back around and looked at me suspiciously

  


"Who are you?" The doctor asked

  


"Oh me? My name is Spike...Valentine." It was the only thing I could think of.

  


"Oh, well, go in the waiting room..." The doctor eyed me once more before leaving

  


"Ed!" Jet and I chorused 

  


"What did Ed do now?" Ed sweatdropped

  


"Never mind, lets go to the waiting room." I walked past them to the 'happily' painted waiting room. It made you remember you were supposed to be sad.

  


"Spike doesn't seem worried." Ed told Jet behind my back

  


"Believe me Ed, he is." 

  


I sighed as I plopped down in the hard waiting room chairs. The room looked as if it was made to break bad news to people. I wanted her to live so badly, I am willing to do anything; it is out of my hands now. I am not in control and that scares me, all I can do is just hold her hand and stay by her side, nothing else. I hate being helpless like this, it drives me insane. If I were a doctor, then I would be of help, but I am not a doctor, I am Spike Speigel. I am the bounty hunter who is in love with a girl, who's heart I broke. This ordeal was tearing away at my heart, trying to shatter it, trying to make me lose my mind. I won't though, I will be ok and so will Faye. I have to believe it, or else... or else life would have no meaning.

  


I put my head in my hands as I looked out of the corner of my eye to see Ed sit down in a chair and stare at the ground. 

  


I felt someone sit sown beside me, I could only assume it is Jet. He just put his hand on my shoulder, nothing else. No words, no philosophical insight, not even a facial expression. That is what I needed right then, even though, I still won't admit it openly, That is exactly what I needed. I needed the presence of someone, to know I wasn't alone, to know I had someone to turn to if things took a turn for the worse. He didn't need to say anything, he didn't need to give me a smile or even a nod, he just needed to be there.

  


I smiled as I slowly realized that the tension was being released from my body. 

That's when it hit me like a ton of bricks, I was that person for Faye and I deserted her. I was that hand on her shoulder and when she remembered her past, when she needed me the most I let her down. Why didn't I see that before? That is a sign of true love, having being there for someone, and having that someone to be with you. Julia never needed me, she never needed me to be there for her. She never needed anyone, she never _wanted_ to be there for anyone who needed her either. That is what defines family, being there for your loved ones. Julia was never there, she never needed me, she just wanted me. Faye needs me, and I need Faye, I need Ed and Jet too. 

  


Although it is a strange sense of having to need something, and not being so independent. It's definitely worth breaking down my tough, thick facade to reveal that I need my loved ones, it's worth showing my emotions toward another about how I care about another. I don't know if it was worth it for Julia, I don't care, she is...dead. I wish she wasn't dead, but for some reason, I think it was fate's doing that she died that night. Even if Julia was alive, I wouldn't go back to her, I don't need her.

  


I took out the necklace from its hiding place and looked at it. Diamonds are beautiful, rare, exquisite, strong and one of a kind. That is Faye, that is definitely Faye, Faye is a diamond in the rough.

  


I could feel Jet's eyes on me, I looked up at him, I don't know how I looked to him, but he smiled.

  


"You know, I gave that to her not too long ago..." He told me breaking the silence

  


"I'm...I'm glad that you did." I answered back

  


"What do you mean by that?" Jet chuckled slightly

  


"Someone needed to be there for her, I'm glad it was you, but I wish it was me." I confessed as I held the necklace

  


"You know I wouldn't just leave her without a place to go, you lunk head." he grinned

  


"I was...I was never there for her...I regret it." I sat up in the chair, I was pulling down my tough facade already

  


"Well, I would like to argue but unfortunately you weren't there, but you are now, and you will be in the future." Jet crossed his arms

  


"Yeah...your right, like always pops." I smirked

  


"You bet I'm right, kidd-o." He retaliated "Do you think Shin will make it?"

  


"I don't know, I hope not, that kid is too bright to die." I answered "You know...he was talking to me about rebuilding the Syndicate, making it honorable again." 

  


"Spike, no offense, but Syndicates are bad news." Jet warned me

  


"Be that as it may, the Red Dragons meant a lot to Shin, I hate to see it fall into the wrong hands." I looked up to him

  


"Spike, for once, I trust you to do the right thing...so don't blow it." Jet crossed his arms as a doctor stepped out of the room

  


"Mr. Black, Mr Valentine, we have good news and bad news." 

  


"Ok..."I stared at him blankly

  


"Mrs. Speigel will be fine, she might not recover consciousness for a while, but she had been through a lot." He reported happily "The bad news is, the man that gave her the blood went into cardiac arrest and he never recovered, he died soon after." I am sorry

  


Thank you Shin... I owe you one...I think I know how to repay you also...

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	8. age of maturity

Age of Maturitytc "" 

Jets POV

            I remember sitting in that hospital room like it was yesterday. Waiting; Waiting for Faye to wake up from a sleep that seemed to last forever. It reminds me of a Faerie tale of old that spoke of a princess that fell under a spell and awoke when a prince kissed her. Sleeping beauty, that's the title, I wonder if Spike knows that faerie tale. In many ways 'Sleeping beauty' is a dead ringer for Faye, except for the princess part. I wish life was a faerie tale, it would make everything wonderful. Wonderful, now there is a word people don't hear very often any more. Dreams are washed down the drain like dirty water for most people, and wishes never seem to get granted any more. People rarely find things in the world that are wonderful by their standards, perhaps their standards are set too high, or perhaps people's lives just blow. People lose faith in their religion; I remember reading in history books about wars on earth were started by conflicting religions. Now religion is just a shell of its former self, people rarely 'have the time' to go to worship much less, read a faerie tale.

            Spike stood next to me leaning up against the white wall that day. He was smoking in spite of the numerous signs that stated no smoking. I wasn't about to tell him to put it out, because I was smoking one too. He would look at me every so often and I would look back, but no conversation went on. We didn't need words to communicate; we just looked at each others facial expressions and knew what the other meant. Ed was officially prohibited to enter the hospital; she attacked a doctor and bit him because he yelled at her for sneaking Ein into the hospital. I remember counting each day, each hour, each minute, each second that Faye was sleeping in that hospital. I tried to have a concept of time, but time stopped again. I never would have thought that time would stop again after Spike left, but there it was. Time was stopped dead in its tracks again. We waited everyday, no 'buts' about it. Spike didn't want for her to wake up and for him not to be there. I also didn't want Faye to wake up and only see Spike; I secretly wanted her to see me too. Although they would never know, I would just bluntly say, 'I couldn't just leave Spike there by himself could I?' 

            One day we visited was a particularly pleasant day, now that I recall. The sun was a large saffron sphere overhead, and the sky never looked more crystal clear. I remember walking up to the hospital with Spike. Spike was as clear headed as the cerulean sky overhead that day. He actually told be right before we walked into the hospital that she would awake today. I remember laughing slightly

_'What makes you think she'll awake today?'_

_'This has been the only sunny day this whole week.' Spike said as if I should have known it, which I did. He is perceptive, no doubt about that._

We checked in as visitors when a young intern came up to us. He looked almost Spike's age, although he wasn't at all like Spike. He seemed too young for this hospital, too young for all the blood, trauma, death and despair. Even though he seemed to be Spike's age, it proves to show that the environment in which you are raised shows your true age of maturity.tc "We checked in as visitors when a young doctor came up to us. He looked almost Spike's age, although he wasn't at all like Spike"****

_'Hey I see you two in here all the time. Are you like regulars or something? Are your visiting anyone?' He was clearly joking but this dumbass intern got the surprise of his life when Spike and I replied._

  


_'No I just like coming here to look at all the young fools who think they can make it as doctors.' I retorted_

_'I'm sorry I didn't mean to offend you.' the intern apologized_

_'If you had offended us you wouldn't be alive to know it.' Spike smirked I knew he was joking, but the intern didn't, he turned pale faced and quickly walked away_

            I chuckled as we moved past the stunned intern, Spike and I had our fun for the day. I walked into the cleanly kept room, lightened by a florescent light and a half opened window. The sunlight streamed in wispy rays of gold onto the unconscious figure in the bed. She had looked better that day than any other day. The color had come back to her cream colored skin. She looked like she was holding her weight rather than losing it, and her vital signs were all normal. It was just a matter of time. Spike sat in the metal folding chair next to her bed. He just stared at her looking over her body for any signs of potential awakening. I leant up against the white wall shifting glances from Faye to Spike, back to Faye. Spike, every so often, would trace her facial features with the slightest of touches. I don't know whether it was in hopes of waking up, or perhaps he just wanted to feel what she felt like, as if he didn't already know. I remember it was about ten minutes before visiting hours were up and we had to leave. Spike still hadn't moved from the chair, although I knew that he was aware that it was almost time to leave.

_'Spike it's almost time to go...' I stood up from the wall slowly_

_'Hmm.' Spike responded_

_'Spike c'mon, we will come back tomorrow.' I pleaded, I was starving, and tired_

_Spike glanced at me irritatingly 'Fine Jet I'm coming.' Spike started to stand up when he stopped suddenly; I turned to look at what it was._

_'Spike wha-' Spike stopped me from speaking, Faye's lips were moving ever so slightly_

_I watched to see if she would wake up or if it just her moving in her sleep. Her lips closed and her eyelids fluttered open lightly. She looked at Spike, and Spike looked back for a brief moment. They were both in shock._

  


_'Faye...how are you feeling?' Spike barely breathed as he leaned over her slightly _

_'Never better Spike.'__ Faye's emerald eyes lit up like a thousand twinkling stars as Spike took hold of her small fame and held her close, making sure not to jostle any IVs. She rested her head on his shoulder and looked as if nothing in the world could harm her. He ran his fingers trough her velvet, violet hair as he kissed her lightly around her neck. He let go after a minute, so that he could look at her._

_'Jet, hey you're here too?' Faye laughed in false disbelief_

_'I couldn't let Spike come alone, you know him and hospitals.'_

_Spike looked at me grinning as if he knew that it wasn't the reason I was here at all. 'You've been sleep for a while Faye, I thought you would never wake up.' His lips smoothly went over hers as a whisper light kiss._

_'Yeah you were the regular sleeping beauty.' I remarked, trying to sound sarcastic. I don't think that it did._

_'Nice to see you too, Jet.'__ Faye smiled, and turned to Spike and kissed him on the lips_

_'You scared me Faye, I thought I would lose-' Faye silenced him with a kiss on the lips _

_'You scared me too Spike. Where's shin?' Faye asked_

_'Shin saved you Faye, you needed a blood transplant and he gave you all his blood.' I confessed as Spike held Faye close to him_

_'Shin saved me twice, I owe him in more ways than I can count.' Faye's head lowered._

_'I owe him everything, He saved you.' Spike smiled as he leaned down and kissed her passionately on the lips.  'I love you Faye, I'll love you forever.'_

_'I love you so much Spike.' Faye said in all sincerity as Spike took her in an embraced and kissed her again_

_'I'll let you two be.' I turned out of the room and walked out of the hospital._

            I wished I could stay with them, but I felt awkward being there. I felt like the third wheel that wasn't quite needed. I have to admit being needed is a good feeling. I feel needed when I am on bebop, but I know that Faye and Spike will not need me as much, or at all now that they have each other. I am happy for them, I really am; I just wish that I could feel that way with someone. I never would have thought that Faye and Spike would even come close to an object of envy, but then again, I would have never thought that they would ever fall in love with each other either. Although, they will never need me like they used to, Ed will, and I am glad to have someone to depend on me.

_'Jet!__ Lobster will not work!' Ed screamed at the top of her lungs._

_'That is because it has no gas in it.' You would think a genius like Ed would know that_

_'Ok, Ed sprinted to fill up her ship when I caught her by the collar.' _

_'I don't want you making a mess understand?' I cautioned and the figure in my grasp nodded repetitively_

_'Yessir captain snaptain snap clap!' Ed bounced as she ran to go retrieve the gas hose._

_I left the hangar to come to see that all of the ships were covered in gasoline, but somehow Ed was spotlessly clean._

_'Ed what happened.' I yelled exasperated_

_'I didn't know where to put the hose so I just covered everything!' I sighed as I helped Ed scrub the gasoline off of the Redtail, Swordfish, hammerhead, and lobster. That kid is a handful and then some._

            After Faye awoke the two were always together; almost attached at the hip. They would just spend hours at a time on the deck of bebop staring off together at the cityscape. Spike would always hold her in his arms, and Faye would always lean back on him. Spike and Faye could just spend hours in each others arms, Spike kissing Faye as they talked. It didn't really matter to them what they were talking about, as long as they were together. Ed surprisingly knew that they needed time to be together and to let them be, most of the time. Ed would sometimes break up their romantic moments by chattering insanely about anything. I guess Ed wanted the attention. 

            They are perfect couple; on the outside. Before long Spike would sometimes leave randomly, not even bothering to tell Faye or I were he was going, or how long he would be gone. That pissed Faye off greatly, actually it worried her more, but she was plenty mad. I remember one time he was gone for about ten hours, which was a long time for him to be gone; needless to say Faye had enough of his 'outings'.

_'Jet has Spike come back yet?' Faye stood meekly in the doorway of my room_

_'Nope.'___

_'Is his communicator on?'_

_'Nope.'___

_'If you knew where he is, you would tell me right.' Faye looked a little out of sorts_

_'Faye I don't have a damn clue where he is. He doesn't tell me anything anymore.'_

_'Weeeeelllll…' Faye paused_

_'Well what.'_

_'I just thought he'd like to know it's blue!' Faye shouted with mixtures of happiness sadness and anger___tc "_'I just thought he'd like to know it's blue!' Faye shouted with mixtures of happiness sadness  and anger_"__

_'Don't tell me…you're pregnant.' _

_'Yes I am and he isn't even HERE! Does he not care? Does he no-' Faye paused as she slumped down against the side of the hull. I looked at her questionably_

_'Does he not love me any more…is that it…is he just tired of me?' Faye lowered her head as shadowed covered the upper half of her face, masking hidden tears._

_'Faye I'm sure that isn't the case, he loves you. He just…likes to get away some.'_

_'Thanks Jet that made me feel so much better.' her words were laced with heavy sarcasm_

_"I try my be-' my words were cut off by Spike radioing to open the hangar door_

_'That's it I'm gonna go up to him and demand that he tell me what in the hell is going on.' Faye stood up and stormed out of the room I followed her because I wanted answers too._

            Now that I look back on it was actually kinda comical how the whole thing played out. It was like one of those soap operas from the 21st century where they would get into fights that seemed just a little too surreal. I would have never in a million years, with a million guesses would have figured out what Spike was hiding up his red sleeve. When he came in the main room of Bebop he was 'greeted' by Faye and me.

_'Spike Spiegel I have something to tell you!' Faye growled_

_'Wait, Faye I, I have something to tell you first.' Spike put his hand on her shoulder_

_'I'm back in the Syndicate Faye; I'm the head of the Red Dragon Syndicate.'_

_'Wha?'__ I gasped; I didn't see that one coming_

_'Spike…why on earth would you go back?'__ I could tell that Faye was devastated she pulled away from Spike's hand and took a few steps back_

_'Faye please, I have to do it for Shin, and all the others who died, I have to make it right.' Spike went to hold her but she stepped back again_

_'Spike you just can't let go of your past, can you? What is it? I'm I just not enough for you? Do you still love Julia is that it?' Faye's emerald spherical eyes welled up with angel's tears as she almost collapsed against the hull._

_'Faye no, I love you, not Julia. I will love you forever, you're my world Faye.' Spike pleaded with Faye trying to go to her and at least hold her_

_'I am obviously not if you want to blow me into the wind, all for that fucking Syndicate!' Faye ran from him into her room with tears streaming down her cheeks like warm rain drops; she slammed the door and locked it fast._

_Spike beat his head into the wall and turned to me._

_'Don't look at me Spike, it was your decision to go back and you have to take the consequences.'_

_'Jet please, I need you to help me on this one I need to show her that the Syndicate isn't bad;  I need to stay in the Syndicate just a little longer.'_

_'Why is this Syndicate so important to you?' I asked_

_'I grew up there Jet, as crazy as it sounds, I did. I can't sit by anymore and watch it being burned down by crazy fuckers like Scythe.' Spike confessed as he sat down on the metal hull. I went beside him and sat down_

_'I thought that you were doing this for Shin.'_

_'I am. They grew up there too…' He slumped, his head in his hands, and frustratingly ran his fingers through his matted green hair. I pitied him, I couldn't help it. I put my hand on his shoulder and he looked up._

_'I'll try my best to get Faye out of her room but after that you are on your own.' I grinned as I watched the color come back to Spike's pale cheeks_

_'Thanks Jet, I owe you a million.'_

_'Nah you owe me like ten million.' I chuckled as I got up_

            I still can't believe even after all these months that he went back to the Syndicate. It surprised me, at first I thought that Spike made a horrible mistake and was going to lose Faye because of it. And to top it all off, she was bearing his child, life is really funny. I think I may have gotten some of the dialogue mixed up from the fight, I don't really remember it that clearly, but what I do remember is talking to Faye after it, for some strange reason I remember every single word.

'_Faye…can I come in, it's Jet.' I knocked softly at her door_

_'um hm.' I heard her murmur softly_

_I looked in her dark room to see her on her bed with her head in her pillow; it was damp with her tears, and smudged with her smeared eyeliner. I sat on the foot of her bed and sighed as I ran my hand through my fading black hair._

_'What do you want Jet?' Faye weakly sniffed as she turned to look at me_

_'I want you to not be mad at Spike.' _

_'Ha, he is deserting me Jet; he doesn't love me he only thinks he does.' Tears streamed down her cheeks again_

_  
'I know that is bullshit, Spike loves you more than life itself, and you know it too. You also know that he would take you over Julia in a heartbeat.' I tried to be convincing. It's hard cheering someone up_

_'Would he really choose me over Julia?' Faye stopped crying and sat up on the bed_

_'I wouldn't be in here trying to cheer you up if he wouldn't.'_

_'Oh…then why is he going back to that damned syndicate?' Faye starred at me_

_'Listen, the syndicate was a big part of his past, he had friends there, he grew up there. He is just making sure that the syndicate doesn't fall into the wrong hands.' I scratched my head hoping it would cheer her up enough so that I could leave._

_'I see; I still don't know though…'_

_'Then why don't you go out there and tell him he's a father and see.'_

_Faye smiled and went to her mirror 'You can't make me go out there with smeared eyeliner on though.' She smiled at me as I left the room_

I felt surprisingly happy after I had that talk with Faye. It made me feel like I made a difference in her life than just making her bell peppers and making sure that her ship was filled up with gas. I felt like she confided in me, like I was the dad trying to help his daughter with a boyfriend. I feel foolish for thinking that, but I can't help it, I like seeing Faye and Spike happy together, they deserve happiness. I won't forget either the shock on Spike's face when he figured out Faye was pregnant.__

_I was down the hall 'trimming my bonsai' I was actually listening to what would happen._

_'Spike…' Faye looked at Spike, who was a wreck._

_'Faye I'm sorry, I love you I really do.' Spike went to hug her but stopped himself, I suppose in fear of hurting her more._

_'Spike, I don't need you to apologize, I need to tell you something.' Faye sat beside Spike on the floor of bebop and held his hand tight._

_'What is it?' He squeezed her hand back gently as his garnet eyes looked into Faye's emerald ones_

_'Spike…please don't get mad…' Faye awkwardly spurted out_

_'Faye I would never get mad at you.' He brushed his lips over Faye's lightly_

_'Spike, I'm pregnant, you're a father.' Faye looked away from Spike's eyes_

_Spike looked at Faye with amazement, and he took her in his arms and held her tight. 'Faye I'm a dad, why on earth would I be angry at you?' Spike kissed Faye passionately on her soft ruby lips as he held her petit frame in his strong arms._

_'Spike I'm so glad your not angry. I don't know what I would have done if you were. I love you so much.' Faye kissed Spike back on his lips, knocking him on his back on the floor. Spike ran his fingers through Faye's violet locks as he kissed her all over her neck and shoulders._

_'I love you too Faye, you know that you have some competition.' He looked down at her stomach and kissed it tenderly. Faye laughed and her emerald eyes glowed._

_'Yeah I guess I do lunkhead.' Faye smiled coyly as she kissed him quickly on his lips leaving him wanting more._

_'You're not going anywhere shrew.' He took Faye back in his arms and picked her up as he kissed her full on her lips slipping his tongue in and out. He then took Faye back into his room all the while still planting kisses all over her._

I could not believe I was being the mediator in their relationship. I felt like the referee in a boxing match. I was the person that people turned to when they had no other place to turn. I was, and am still the trump card. I am still the rock of bebop even though Bebop is much different than it was when I found it. I know deep down they like it here, and they think I'm their comrade.

            I knew there was no way that Spike and Faye could be mad at each other for long. They were back to normal before I knew it. Well, as normal as a pregnant woman and a Syndicate boss could be. Spike spent less, and less time at the Syndicate as it got better and better. He told me that they signed many peace documents and even merged Syndicates with the smaller White Drake Syndicate. He promised that when the baby was born that he would sign over the Syndicate to someone he trusted. I knew Spike would be fine in the long run. He and I would stand out on bebop together, when Faye was napping, and talk about whatever. I remember one conversation we talked about in particular.

_'I can't believe it, I'm a father; it's like a…' Spike struggled for appropriate words_

_'A faerie tale?'__ I imputed_

_'Yeah, only better, I would have never dreamt in a million years I would have a family, especially with a woman that stole all my money when I first met her.' Spike laughed as his eyes lit up when he thought of Faye_

_'You know Ed wants to name the baby tomato.' I chuckled_

_'I know; she won't be quiet about it, I think Faye is going to explode.' Spike smirked_

_'What are the names of the baby?'_

_'Well, if it's a girl, Sandra. If it's a boy, well we actually haven't gotten that far.' Spike smoked his cigarette_

_'You know what's a great name?'_

_'What?'_

_'Edward.' I nearly dropped my cigarette with laughter. Spike just stared at me with his classic 'you got to be kidding me' face. He looked down at the cigarette_

_'I can't believe I have to smoke outside…of my own ship!' I exclaimed noticing what life has come to._

_'Hey you have it easy, Faye has to quit all together, including drinking.' Spike retorted_

_'My god, she is going to get moody isn't she?' I rolled my eyes_

_'She already has strange food cravings like a bowl of raw onions to snack on and a steak at three in the morning.' Spike noted_

_'You know, red meat is supposed to mean it's a boy.' I explained as I sucked my cigarette, Spike turned to me with a serious expression on his face._

_'Jet, you know when the baby is born we are gonna hafta leave here don't you.' Spike took a long drag out of his cigarette_

_'Yeah I hope so, I don't want a screaming baby in my ship.' I smirked at him as I took an equally long drag out of mine._

_'Yeah, I bet it hurts to see you little chicks leave the nest.' Spike smirked back as he exhaled smoke rings_

_'I wouldn't be talking; I'm not the one with a baby on the way, kid.' I matched his smoke rings_

_'Yeah remind me to ask you for advice with the baby, dad.' Spike grinned and stomped out his spent cigarette._

_'Don't make me kick the both of you off my ship now.' I growled_

_'I didn't mean anything bad about it, you are the 'dad' of bebop whether you like it or not.' Spike looked at me with a gaze of laughter and seriousness. _

_I just stared at him and stomped out my cigarette, I guess I am the father, whether I like it or not._

I hate admitting to things that I don't want to be true. I never wanted to be the dad of bebop; it just ended up that way. I sometimes find myself late at night pruning my bonsai, wishing that I wasn't the father figure I am now. Spike, for once I am right to say, he is lucky. He is lucky to be the type of person to fall in love and to actually start a family. I am not saying that he has had a flawless life by any means. I am just simply thinking over, why couldn't I just settle down like the rest of them.I sometimes think at night to myself if I will ever settle down, but I think it's too late for me. I couldn't imagine a girl who would go for an old cop with one arm who doesn't even have 10 woolongs to spare; rather than a daring young guy who will whisk them off their feet. I know for a fact, girls don't like guys like me… I've had enough experience to at least know that. At least, I have someone to look after though.

            Ed and I have been getting along great, I think. I don't think I remember a time where she was ever angry with me, or rather be somewhere else besides Bebop. She turned into a real interesting person. She is the only person to bring life to the ship like she has. She makes every day an adventure, even if those adventures aren't wanted. Spike, Faye and I could be lying around doing nothing and Ed could pop in and make us all liven up. I have to say, Ed rounds bebop off with a quirky edge. I remember Faye and Spike were gone for Faye's bimonthly check up. I was watching some TV when Ed came up to me with a peculiar expression on her face.

_'Jet I have a question for you.'_

_'Shoot Ed.'_

_'Do you want a family?' Ed gazed at me with her wild amber eyes_

_'Why would you ask that, Ed?'_

_'I see you look at Faye and Spike, do you envy them perhaps?' Ed fiddled with her springy red puffball hair_

_'I am happy for them Ed, I don't envy them.' I sighed_

_'Why don't you envy them?' Ed flipped onto the chair opposite me_

_'Because Ed, they are much different than me.'_

_'How so?'__ Ed tumbled from the chair to the couch beside me_

_'They lead different lives than me, they are a couple. I was never meant to find anyone, that simple.' I have to admit it pained me to admit that to myself_

_'I think many ladies could like you Jet.' Ed smiled as she bounced over to me_

_'Why is that?'_

_'You are one of a kind Jet father, and I think that you will meet a lady who will think the same.' Ed smiled largely_

_'Jet father you haven't called me that in a while.' I was thinking about what she had said to me just then. I am I really that special of a person, or is Ed just being Ed? I don't know but it did feel nice to have someone say that to me._

_'Silly Jet father, just because I don't call you that doesn't mean that you aren't Jet father.'_

"Jet! Come quick!" I heard Spike call from his room. I had been day dreaming again. It's hard not too when you are docked on a sun lit ocean with the breeze at your back. I have been daydreaming a lot about the past lately. I think I should snap back to reality.

I ran down the hallway wondering what in the hell he could be yelling about now. "What is it Spike?" I turned in his room to see him with his arm around Faye, whose stomach was a big as a basketball.

"My water broke; can we get to the hospital?" Faye bit her lip as a contraction set in. Spike held her up so that she wouldn't fall.

"Ok I'll go get Ed's lobster; it's the only one big enough to fit more than one person." I ran to the hangar and opened it, Ed immediately popped out.

"Where are you going in such a hurry?" Ed bounced up and down

"Faye is going to have her baby; we are going to have to use your ship Ed." I quickly spurted out

"Ok, but I am flying it!" Ed sprinted to her ship.

"Ed I think Spike should fly i-" Ed cut me off "Only Ed flies Ed's Lobster!"

"Fine" I turned to see Spike half-carrying Faye to the Lobster.

"Ed is piloting I hope you wont mind." I warned them

"It's fine as long as I get there soon." Faye grinned as Spike helped her in the ship. Ein, the incredible, opened the hangar by pressing the button with his nose as I proceeded to tail them in the hammerhead. I laughed as I saw the Lobster take 90 degree turns and accelerate and decelerate.

"They must be having fun I chuckled to myself." I soon found myself wondering if is going to be a boy or a girl. Both would be hazardous to society, well, that is if he/she turns out like their parents. 

            They landed at the hospital shakily, as I saw Ed flip out of the lobster followed by Spike pulling Faye out. I landed next to them as I ran into the lobby and told them that Faye was on the way. The receptionist, called for a wheelchair and Faye was quickly seated and taken to the south wing.

"Hey wait can't I come with her?" Spike asked as he looked longingly at Faye who was glowing with pregnancy. 

"Not now, they have to prep her." A doctor informed Spike, we will call you when you are allowed to enter. Spike planted a kiss on Faye's lips

"I love you I'll be there soon." Spike's eyes revealed hints of worry Faye smiled and kissed him back longer.

"Don't worry everything will be fine." Faye smiled as they wheeled her away

"Faye-Faye make sure you name the baby tomato!" Ed called grinning from ear to ear.

"Ed I don't think Spike or Faye want their baby to be named tomato." I informed Ed

"Ed thinks Tomato is the best name there is, I will name my baby tomato!" I was trying to picture Ed married with children, but the image never came. I almost laughed out loud. I caught a glimpse of Spike pacing in circles

"Spike I am sure everything will be fine." I put a hand on his shoulder and grinned

"If anything happens to Faye or the baby-" I cut him off

"Nothing will happen, you'll see." I turned to see a young doctor come toward us.

"Who here is father?" Spike immediately stepped foreword

"Hey you look familiar." The young doctor studied us "Did you guys come in here before?"

"A while ago, why?" I crossed my arms "I am failing to see what the big deal is." was

"You were the two that called me a young fool about me becoming a doctor, I'm that intern!" he smiled

"Great a young inexperienced lunatic doctor is delivering my baby!" Spike exploded, I laughed

"Well, I'm here to tell you that Faye is all ready to give birth, we gave her a pill to put her in labor. She should be ready to deliver soon. I am delivering her baby and everything seems normal." Spike scratched his head

"Will she be ok? Is there anything wrong?" Spike began to tense up 

"She is fine." The young doctor smiled.

"Ok, but as long she and the baby will be fine…" Spike warned

"Don't worry Spike; I am sure everything will be alright." I reassured

"Listen to your father, he knows what he is talking about." The intern said, I nearly exploded

"I AM NOT HIS FATHER!" I shouted as people from across the lobby stared at me. The intern gulped loudly as he walked with Spike down the hallway to the delivery room F67. 

            I followed with Ed, but we were told that we couldn't enter so we…kind of patently waited outside. Ed was bouncing off the walls and chattering things that had no meaning like 'Bam!' What in the hell is 'live from Los Angeles is Cooking with Emeril'? I swear she gets the strangest things off of the Tomato II.  

            I found out that I hate waiting so much I want to pull the rest of my hair out. I thought I have been here for days, and Ed isn't making it any easier. I kept trying to make myself calm down, but I found it impossible without a cigarette. I thought I was going to lose it when Ed started to sing some random song that kept repeating 'I love you, you love me…' 

"Ed what are you doing?" 

"Singing Barney 21st century music, it's fun!" Ed smiled largely

"STOP!" I was a little on edge. Then I saw Spike emerge from the room grinning from ear to ear

"It's a boy!" He yelled as I grinned at him

"I never thought I see the day when I saw Spike have a kid, wow." I went in the room too see Faye holding a little boy infant wrapped in a blanket. I looked at Spike, Faye and the baby together and saw a picture perfect family. They had never looked happier; Faye was smiling, not her usual coy smile, but a real smile. A smile I have never seen before; a motherly smile. Spike had his arm around Faye as he looked at the baby with wonder in his mismatched eyes. Now that I look at him, his eyes don't seem as mismatched as before. Perhaps I am just losing it, ore perhaps he himself is just becoming less mismatched as his life unfolds. Spike bent over and kissed Faye on the lips she kissed back and handed the baby to Spike so that I could see it up close.

            He had Spike's garnet eyes and most of Spikes facial features, his nose, eyes, mouth. He looked like a mini Spike, with the exception of his hair; Pierce had a few longish straight strands of violet hair. I have to admit, the kid is adorable. He was now sleeping back in Faye's arms with Spike hovering over them. 

"He's cute Spike what is his name?" I asked

"Is it tomato?" Ed piped up

"Ed I am not naming my baby tomato! Spike and I decided on Pierce." Faye half laughed half yelled at Ed

"Pierce Spiegel I like the sound of that." I said.

"I'm glad you like it. Uncle Jet." Spike smirked as he put an arm around Faye and she leaned her head up against his chest.

"Uncle Jet?" I sighed "What is this world coming to?" I shrugged as Ed looked at me with amber eyes and hugged my legs almost causing me to fall over.

"Ed likes Jet uncle!" Ed smiled from ear to ear

"Congratulations you two, I have to admit I am very happy for you…three." I grinned

"Thanks Jet, you're gonna be my best man right?" Spike came up and patted me on my shoulder

"For your wedding; Of course you lunkhead!" I grinned "Does that make Ed the made of honor?" I laughed

"Can Ein be the ring bearer pleeeeeaaaaaaase Spike and Faye and baby Spike!" Ed blurted out  

"Sure Ed, we will all be in the wedding." Faye smiled

"I know this is gonna be an interesting wedding if Ed is the maid of honor, Jet is the best man and Ein is the ring bearer." Spike smirked as we all doubled over with laughter; that was Bebop for you.

"Well, I am going to let you two be alone, Ed and I will go get Chinese take out and sneak it back." I said grabbing Ed's arm as she was still smiling about being in the wedding.

"Thanks Jet, come back quick ok?" Faye and Spike both said apparently hungry 

            I waved as I walked out of the hospital, hiding Ed behind me because she was still technically, not allowed to be here. This was the second time; I had to leave the hospital, and the second time I had to go get Chinese. At least this time I had company. Ed was skipping along beside me singing a tune. I smiled. I decided to walk along the streets in hopes of running into a Chinese take out place. 

            The streets were actually not all that safe anymore so I made sure that Ed was close by. I came up around a corner and heard gunshots. I immediately grabbed Ed's arm with one arm and my gun with my other and whip around in search of the disturbance. It was an armed robbery as I saw a clumsy twenty year old run out of a building with a handful of cash cards. I chased after him, even though I was older, I caught up with him thanks to my years in the ISSP. I whacked him in the back of the head with the butt of my pistol and he crashed to the ground. 

            I turned to see a woman, probably in her early thirties, run to me. She was actually very attractive, I am surprised how I am reacting to a woman I had never met before. She her chestnut brown hair was pulled back in a long loose braid with wisps of bangs flanking her delicate face. Her skin was tanned golden with the suns rays. She had large dark brown eyes with thick lashes, like those of a child. Her smile was innocent and pure, seeming free of any turmoil. She acted younger and more youthful than she her age, but then again, she also looked good too. Her pale blue dress was a V-neck modest. The dress, not revealing like those Faye wore before she got pregnant, but still showed some cleavage. Her dress flowed like water down her smooth figure and cut at the knees. She wore an half-apron on top of her dress that was stained through use.  

"Sir thank you so much for catching him, he took all our money." She smiled the smile of an angel.

"All in a days work." I grinned as I picked up the cash cards to hand them to her. I look past her to make sure Ed was ok; she was running about the streets pressing her face at every window.

"Here have some, for catching him for me." She handed me three cash cards and her eyes glowed.

"Nah, I'd like to know your name though." I pushed back her small hands I smiled; she blushed as she looked at me.

"My name is Marie Venez . What is yours?" She asked curiously she noticed Ed fly around behind her.

"Jet, Jet black, and that kid over there with the puffpink hair is Ed." I pointed to the approaching figure.

"Ooooh, Jet is that; your girlfriend?" I covered her mouth with my robotic hand as I blushed. "Ed quiet!"

"Is she yours?" she asked hesitating only a few moments

"Nah, her father died so I'm taking care of her." I ran my hand through my black hair

"That's very noble of you, taking care of her." She smiled as she watched Ed jump on my mechanical arm and try to shake her off. She then immediately leaped and stared directly into Marie's eyes

"I have always wanted a child…" she paused very awkwardly seemingly embarrassed as she tuned bright red "I have never found the right man though…" She stared down at her feet; her mind seemed to be reeling.

"I don't want to seem like something I'm not, My friends and I bounty hunters, ma' am not exactly a commendable career choice." I sighed, there goes another girl

"Oh I don't mind, I have done jobs that I haven't found financially rewarding or socially acceptable, but I find that any job you like you can make enjoyable. I can see that you and Ed have more than made up for that." She smiled innocently and looked at me. I think I blushed again…damn. She looked at me puzzled though

"With all respect, you don't seem like a type of person who would be a bounty hunter." She studied me with a curious angle.

"What do you mean by that?" I asked

"Well, you didn't take my money and you seem very kind you helped me out without a second glance." She thought for a moment putting her hand to her chin, she was cute when she did that.

"Well a while ago I was in the ISSP, but that ended when this happened." I waved my robotic arm around slightly

"I'm sorry; I'm sure get along just great though. I friend of mine lost a leg and he just picked right back up and went along on his business as if nothing had happened." She explained trying to put the situation at ease

"I like you! Will you be my mom? Jet's already my dad and he takes great care of me!" She looked at Ed and smiled as she looked back up at me 

"Sorry about that Marie, do you happen to know where a good Chinese food restaurant is, I need some good take out." I changed the subject quickly

"Actually Jet…" She laughed and her brown eyes sparkled "The shop I own is a Chinese take out restaurant, kinda funny huh?" She smiled again, that smile… wait did she just say Chinese food.

"Wow, odd. Well Id love to come in and order some food." I smiled as I turned to her and walked with her, Ed trailing just a few feet behind.

"Sure, but it's on me." I don't know what came over me put I reached down and we laced our fingers and held hands as we walked back towards her store. This was the second time I found a diamond when I go for Chinese.

            I think if I never met Spike, Faye, Ein, Ed I would be here today walking down this road holding hands. I don't think I'll ever know if life throws things at you purposely. What I do know is that life can be a faerie tale, life can have a happy ending, and if you stick with life, life will stick with you. I found my place today; I think all of Bebop did. Spike, Faye, Ed, Ein, and I have all found true happiness in one way or another. Our pasts tested our minds, our bodies, our souls and our emotions to the breaking point, and we all passed. If you can conquer your most disturbing, and dreaded obstacles, then you get rewarded. You get rewarded with happiness, love, joy, peace, and most importantly someone to stand by your side when life takes an unexpected turn.

                                                                                                **See you space cowboys…**

Disclaimer….I don't own cowboy bebop….I wish I did

Hey I hoped you liked my fic, sorry this chapter was so long, I had a lot to say ya know. Anyway thanx to all reviews and I hope you will review my other stories.


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